Thomas Christopher Gibbs, 89, born to Joe “Jodie” and Anna Gibbs on February 19, 1933, in Compton, California, passed away at his home on Sunday, March 27, 2022. He resided in Sun Village, California at the time of his passing.
Thomas is survived by eight of his children, Vertice Gibbs, Denise Gibbs, Nancy Allen, Christina Gibbs, Clifton Gibbs, Jason Frederick, Susan Tolbert, and Yvonne Gibbs. His two daughters, Brenda Gibbs and Teresa Richmond, preceded him in death.
He is also survived by his 17 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and four great-great grandchildren. Thomas affectionately known as “Uncle Tommy,” also survived by a host of nieces and nephews in San Diego, Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Thomas, who was called “Tommy” by his brothers, was the youngest of seven boys – John Henry, Leonard, William, Raymond, Joe, and James Gibbs. He grew up in Los Angeles, CA, and graduated from Jefferson High School.
Thomas married his high school sweetheart Maxine Thornton, and they were married for 46 years until Maxine Gibbs passed away in November 2000. Together, they had eight girls and one boy. After Maxine’s passing, he married Annie Gibbs, who passed away in July 2018.
Not only was Thomas an accomplished musician with a vast repertoire of jazz, bossa nova, classical, soul and blues genres, but he also was an excellent gardener and he proudly supported his family as a hard-working electronics technician.
Thomas’ greatest accomplishment was his children and his family. Thomas loved to have lots of family around and he was a loved and respected person, who lit up the room with joy everywhere that he went.
In his final moments, he was surrounded by his children, grand-children, great and great-great grandchildren. Thomas (Tommy) was truly loved and adored, and he was genuinely kind to everyone he encountered.
Thomas’ final arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Covina Hills. His private in-person service will be live-streamed on Saturday, April 30, 2022.
