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David E. Gibson III, of Albuquerque passed away on November 30, 2009. He was 86 years old. Founder and owner of Gibson Lumber Company and Apache Lumber Company, he was born in Albuquerque in 1923, when his father, David Gibson II (Dee) lived here briefly to launch a lumber yard with partner Ray Harris. It was one of some 30 family lumberyards once scattered across Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and California. He grew up in Canon City, Colorado, and attended Stanford University, Colorado College and the University of Colorado. During WW II he served in the Pacific Theater on the Destroyer Escort Hollis, attaining the rank of ensign. He moved to Albuquerque in 1946 to re-establish the Gibson Lumberyard, which stood at 4100 4th St. NW for 30 years. In the 1960s, many city bus stop bench backrests were cut in the shape of the company's trademark handsaw design and sported the business name. He settled with his budding family in Lee Acres, one of the North Valley's early residential neighborhoods. Over his life, he would play many roles in helping Albuquerque evolve. He served on the board of trustees for the Albuquerque Academy, as vice-chair of the Albuquerque Civic Symphony, as board director of the 4H, as a board member of the Rio Grande Kiwanis Club, and with the lumber trade group known as the Hoo Hoo Club. He helped build Sandia Savings & Loan Company into a major local force, financing thousands of home mortgages, and was an early investor in the Sandia Tram Company. He was a strong advocate for the creation of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Administration to control the frequent, destructive summer flooding that plagued the North Valley in the late 1950s and 1960s. David deeply appreciated art and literature. He wrote poetry, took memorable photos with his favorite Leica cameras, and loved to travel. He was a fine tennis player, golf player and skier (he was a partner in the first condominium project at Taos Ski Valley-the Sierra del Sol units), an excellent dry fly fisherman, and a championship trap shooter. He set up telescopes for his children to view comets and on Halloween was known to dish out more tricks than treats. He was also a sharp dresser. He had style, intellect, wit, humor and a passionate love of life. He was preceded in death by his father David II; his mother Irene,; and younger brothers Robert and Jack Gibson. He is survived by his first wife, Virginia Whipple of Albuquerque; his children David E. Gibson IV, Brett Solon, Gretchen and son-in law Daniel Shaffer, Daniel Gibson and daughter-in-law Kitty Leaken, and Matthew Gibson; and grandchildren Michael and Blair Solon, Rachel and Phillip Shaffer, and Travis and Isabel Gibson. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 2, 2009 in Albuquerque at a location to be announced.
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