Obituary of David Phillip Gibbon

On Sunday January 22 David Phillip Gibbon passed away at age 61

David was born in Dartford, Kent, UK. He was the first child of John and Doreen Gibbon. David was a  bright child and learned to read at age three. At four years old he moved with his new brother and parents to the village of Arkendale in Yorkshire. He started school there but was only there for a little over a year before the family (now with a little sister) moved to the USA. The family moved to Charlotte, NC for his father’s work and David started in the local elementary school. He soon frustrated his teachers by insisting on spelling things the “English” way. He attended several local schools and ended up being selected as one of the initial students to go through the open program concept at Piedmont middle and West Charlotte High schools. As early as age eleven David developed an interest in Computers, and he proceeded to teach himself programming and built his own computer.

In middle school David was able to program the school computer to play chess using punch cards. He was granted access to the Mecklenburg Schools main frame until someone figured out that it might not be a good idea for a middle school student to be able to look at all the information kept in the system. David had a close group of friends that spent many hours playing Dungeons and Dragons and other strategy games. In his teens he was very involved in Boy Scout troop 33 where he earned his Eagle Scout award. David was accepted to Wake Forest University where he was a member of the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity and graduated with a BS in Mathematics. After University, David’s first professional job was with Hand Held Products of Charlotte, where he was instrumental in the development of the first hand held barcode reader for Federal Express. Soon after he was recruited by Realm Industries which moved him to Melbourne, Florida. He later was offered a position at Harris Corporation where he worked for several years before he returned to Realm (now BK Technologies) so he wouldn’t have to leave Florida as he had come to love the state. He retired in 2020 but continued to work freelance for BK Technologies.

David enjoyed playing chess, flying, sailing, astronomy, and travel. He was a proficient musician and played both the piano and the violin and received many awards and accolades for both. He was a member of the Melbourne yacht club and enjoyed sailing on the Indian River. He had invested in several high-powered telescopes and enjoyed sharing them with others to view the heavens. A highlight was when he took his telescope to Clemson to view the solar eclipse in 2018. David loved to share his passion for astronomy, generously allowing dozens of people the opportunity to view the eclipse and was even interviewed by the local media. David took an early interest in flying and obtained his glider license as a teenager and after university he went on to earn his pilot’s license. He joined the Civil Air Patrol where he rose to the rank of Captain. David also traveled to many parts of the world and was an avid Cruiser. He particular enjoyed travelling to Australia and New Zealand and used his skills as an amateur photographer to take many beautiful pictures. David was a board member with the Naturist Society and was the editor of the newsletter. He also worked on lobbying for their causes.

David was proceeded in death by his mother, Doreen Gibbon and is survived by his father, John Gibbon, his brother Andrew Gibbon (Natalie+), his sister, Susan (Phillip+), his nephews and niece, Allen, Michael and Lara Crosby and his beloved cat Patina.

Services will take place at St. Michael’s Anglican Church in Matthews, NC on March 4th at 11:00 We will gather with family and guests in the fellowship hall after the service. As remembrance celebration will take place in Melbourne in the near future. Please check back for updates.