Eleanor Marshall Gibbs
Eleanor Marshall Gibbs died September 5, 2016. She was born in Newark, NJ, on February 2, 1922, to Andrew Marshall and Theresa Autenrieth Volosin. She graduated from Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge, NJ in 1939. She proudly served in the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII in the first group of women permitted to join and was stationed in Washington, D.C. After her honorable discharge, she worked for Arabian American Oil Company in New York City and then in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where she met and later married George B. Gibbs in 1953. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Houston in 1955. Ten years after the births of her two children, she returned to U of H to earn a master's degree in psychology in 1973 and joined the Psychology Department at the VA Medical Center until her retirement in 1984.
Eleanor loved traveling the world, enjoying the performing arts and playing bridge with friends. She was a long-serving member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church, where she developed many lifelong friendships. She strongly advocated for the advancement of social justice and diversity, and these beliefs guided her throughout her life. She was preceded in death by her husband, George, and sister, Doris Marshall Cole. She is survived by her son, Peter G. Gibbs of Houston; daughter, Joan L. Gibbs of Austin; and niece, Linda Cole Harlow of Stuart, FL. The family would like to convey heartfelt thanks to Women's Marine Association TX-2 members for their dedication to Eleanor and hers to them. Semper Fi.
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on October 8 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 5200 Fannin St., Houston, TX. Ashes will be interred at the Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society 875 N. Randolph St., Suite 225, Arlington, VA 22203.