Neil Louis Gibbs died peacefully after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease in Citrus Heights, Calif., February 16, 2016, at the age of 86.

He is survived by his wife Ruth “Billie” B. Gibbs; daughters Julie Campbell Berge and husband Brian Berge, of Antelope, Calif., and Lynn Griffin and husband Gary Griffin, also of Antelope; and son Jeffrey N. Gibbs and wife Annette Gibbs, of Long Pond Township. His surviving siblings are brothers Derol Gibbs and Allison Gibbs, of Maine, and sister Leona Dyer, of Florida.

Grandchildren include Audra Gray, of Ore.; Hilary Campbell, of N.C.; Hannah Campbell, of Penn.;Max Bradford, of Maine; and Tim Griffin, Emma Griffin, and Denver Berge, all of California. Neil also had a great-grandchild, Solomon Dwyer-Gray, of Oregon.

He was predeceased by his parents, John and Isabel Maude Gibbs, originally of Brooks, as well as brothers Nolan Gibbs and Frank Gibbs. 

Neil was born at the family home in Brooks July 31, 1929. He graduated from Morse Memorial High School in Brooks and later attended Husson Business School. He married Billie Gray December 31, 1950.

Neil had an amazingly diverse professional career and excelled at a multitude of occupations, many simultaneously. He had the natural instincts and ability to pick up job skills and excel quickly in any field that interested him.

He started his work history as many from that era did, on the family farm. For one summer, Neil stood the fire tower watch on Frye Mountain in Montville. He later worked as a clerk at the general store in Morrill, until he bought the place and changed the name to Gibbs General Store in the early 1950s. During this time he always owned an airplane and pursued his love of flying and fishing on many trips with fellow bush pilots to Northern Maine lakes and ponds.

In the early days, Neil had played drums at the Blue Goose in Northport, and later drums, guitar, and ukulele with his brother, Allison, for assisted living residents in the Midcoast.

In 1962, he and Billie moved the family to Camden, where he took the position of General Manager of the Camden Farmers Union. For the next several years, Neil transformed the company into a successful cooperative specializing in farm supplies, grain and heating oil.

He also spear-headed a public service project by making the Farmers Union a collection/disposal site for products containing DDT, which had been banned. While managing the Camden Farmers Union he worked nights as a radio personality at WRKD AM radio in Rockland, reading the news and playing the big band sounds.

During those years he leveraged his love of flying into yet another career, as a commercial pilot for the then-Down East Airlines in Owls Head, flying air taxi routes all over New England, the islands off of Maine, as well as Maritime Canada. He continued his flight training, receiving multiple advanced ratings, including his instructor certification. He taught many others to fly over the years.

Other jobs/activities while living in the Midcoast included car salesman, emergency medical technician, and deacon and Sunday school teacher for the Chestnut Street Baptist Church in Camden. He was also a police dispatcher and patrol officer for both Camden and Rockport police departments. 

As he got older, he became well known all along the Midcoast during the 1980s and 1990s as the state-appointed inspector of weights and measures. During his tenure at Weights and Measures he was twice the subject of feature articles in local newspapers.

Neil was a writer himself, authoring nostalgic stories of epic small game hunts, many with his beloved beagle, Heidi, and which appeared over the years in local newspapers and sporting magazines.

Neil enjoyed traveling. Summers, he and Billie took children Julie, Jeff and Lynn on camping road trips all around the U.S. and Canada. The kids always had amazing stories of the summer’s adventures to tell classmates when returning to school every fall. Neil and Billie continued to travel and explore after the kids were grown, with trips to Europe and Alaska. He could often be found panning for gold or using his metal detector to locate lost treasures.

Family members and friends are asked to celebrate and memorialize Neil’s life in their own way, wherever they are. Thank you for your concerns and support through Neil’s journey. Also thank you to Sun Oak Memory Care and Vitas Hospice for Neil’s excellent care.