Robert Bruce Gibson

Services for Mr. Robert Bruce Gibson will begin at 10:00 AM Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at Central Baptist Church, Meridian, MS with Reverend Burt Cade officiating. Interment will follow at the MS Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Newton, MS at 12:00 PM with military honors. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements.

Bruce was born December 22, 1943 and resided in Meridian, Mississippi.  He was the son of Robert and Mollie Bell Gibson. After graduating from Meridian High School in 1962, he attended Meridian Junior College and graduated from Mississippi State University in 1966 with a B.A. in Sociology. He continued his education at Tulane University and the University of Southern Mississippi, completing his MSW in Social Work in 1978.  Bruce served, in the US Navy, during the Vietnam Era.  He was assigned to the Defense Intelligence School, Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, DC. He was employed, as a social worker, at the Lauderdale County Welfare Department, East Mississippi State Hospital, Baton Rouge General CDU Hospital, Family Service Center at NAS Meridian, the Veterans’ Medical Center, Jackson, and Rush Health Systems, Senior Care Program. He was a licensed Certified Social Worker, LCSW, both in Alabama and Mississippi.  His memberships included the National Association of Social Workers, NASW, the Academy of Certified Social Workers, ACSW, as well as being a Diplomat in Clinical Social Work. Bruce was a lifetime member of Central Baptist Church (formerly, South Side Baptist). He was an ordained Deacon, as well as the Sunday School teacher for the senior adult men’s Scrap Iron class.

He enjoyed vintage cars and was an active member of the Vintage Wheels Antique Car Club.  Auto Shows and auto activities were a large part of his life.  His automotive legacy includes the decades-long preservation of both a 1955 Imperial Sedan and 1957 Imperial Hardtop. He was also a vocalist with the Meridian Symphony Chorus.

He is survived by his sister Gerry S. Herndon-Georgia; nieces, Jennifer Jones-Georgia and Janet        Frazier-Meridian; nephews, Joseph Thompson-Long Beach, Bob Epperson-North Carolina, and Brian Epperson-Georgia, as well as many friends including his lifelong friend, Rose Mary Hodges Forehand of California.  He also leaves his beloved pets Tebow, Cooper, Grayson, and Maggie.

Bruce was proceeded in death by his parents, his sister, Mary Elizabeth Thompson, and his brother Gene Gibson.

The Gibson family suggests memorials be made to Central Baptist Church or to the Parkinson’s Foundation at www.parkinson.org in lieu of flowers.

The Gibson family will receive guests from 9:00 AM until 9:50 AM at the church prior to funeral rites.