Kenneth A. Gibbons

Karen Calace

My condolences on Ken’s passing. I am so grateful for the friendship he shared with my father, the constant phone calls and laughter. He will be so greatly missed.

I met Kenny as a member of the Powerhouse Gym in Miller Place. We were both “Romeos”[Retired Old Men Eating Out]. As retired high school English teachers, as well as Fordham alumni, we instantly bonded. As I recall, Kenny preferred conversation to exercise, and he regaled us with many a funny story. He always wore a big smile and usually a Fordham T shirt or hoodie. Unfortunately, Powerhouse closed about six years ago , and the members scattered to other gyms, so I completely lost touch with him.
I regret not making an effort continue our friendship. Kenny was truly the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar!

I met Ken at Powerhouse Gym in Miller Place. For some reason Ken and I clicked. We had very little in common other than he was a teacher at Ward Mellevlle and I was a NYC Phys. Ed. teacher.
We spoke several times a day
The man made me laugh. I enjoyed hearing about his trips to Vienna, his enjoyment of wine and Orto and his love of Carol and his family especially his grandchildren.
Ken was a special man and a wonderful person.
I already miss him terribly. I pray he is at peace.

My thoughts and prayers with your family and friends.

I was so sorry to learn that Kenny had passed away. He was so good-natured- – a colleague in the WMHS English Department whom I always looked forward to seeing. His wonderful smile could not help but put a smile on my own face.

Ken and I were kindred spirits. It was always a joy to see him at family functions and catch up over good food and drink – all the while talking about good food and drink, brewing, and winemaking. He was a vibrant soul and always lit up the room with his good vibes and positive energy. He will be sorely missed – my heart goes out right now to Carol and family.

With love, friendship, and our deepest sympathies.

It is my honor and privilege to remember Ken Gibbons.

I was a friend of Kenny when we went to Brooklyn Prep H.S. in the sixties. He was an excellent student and seemed to effortlessly get good grades. He loved basketball and played on our class team. One of his outstanding traits was his unique sense of humor coupled with his innocent appearance.

Kenny gave me many, many laughs every day. He was deceptive in his playfulness. One time he and I were talking in the back of the classroom and our teacher suddenly asked “Who is talking?” Without any hesitation at all, Kenny said “Connolly, why were you talking?” Of course, Connolly vehemently denied it. The teacher said “Mr. Connolly I don’t want to hear another word.”

Kenny was gifted with a talent for letting us try almost anything and not get into trouble. He had an open welcoming style and appeared serious so attention quickly shifted away from us. He would delight me with his semi-serious musings about other classmates. He was a great observer and would pluck an open-ended question out of thin air. One example is his question to me “Do you think that — (last name) eats tacos all weekend?” From then on, I kept watching the designated classmate to see if he was starting to wear baggy clothes.

Another time, Kenny mused to me about a friend Jack from Flatbush who was never wrong. I had met Jack a few times and knew that he was ordinary and certainly not a genius. I protested mightily but Kenny just quietly kept repeating his statement. Finally I said that everyone is wrong now and then. Kenny smiled the whole time and finally mentioned Jack’s full name – Jack Wright.

When we were at Fordham, Kenny became friendly with the basketball team. He noticed that they went home on weekends when there were no games. So he asked if he could use their meal cards and he piled up his plate with cafeteria food. He went to many of the home games and he perfected a technique which relied on his innocent face and long arms.

Kenny would sit in the bleachers and look straight ahead at the game. But he had a target person. His target sat two rows in front of him. Whenever the crowd jumped up, Kenny would lean over and flick his fingers against the back of his target’s head. The guy would turn around and shout at the person sitting in the row behind him. Kenny calmly sat back and wondered aloud why people do those things. Once again his innocent appearance kept suspicion away from him.

I will really miss Kenny. I could talk with him about anything and everything. He was a good listener and was a very kind person. I never heard him say anything unkind about anyone. At most, he would wonder why a person would keep practicing specific negative behavior. I loved hearing him talk about the months of research he did before all of his trips. He taught himself Italian and was extremely intelligent. I remember how he loved all sports except baseball. He thought that the games dragged on without much activity so he dubbed it “bore ball”.

Mr. Gibbons was my English teacher around 1973. If I think of him, there was a smile on his face and all the class loved him and the way he taught. He made everything interesting and fun.
Many many moons again, but a man who will never be forgotten.