July 26, 1953 – November 8, 2022
Kyle D. Gibbs, 69, of Marshall, Mo., passed away Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at his home.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at Campbell-Lewis Chapel in Marshall. Burial will follow in Ridge Park Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, at Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home. Memorials are suggested to Marshall Optimist Club, and an online guestbook is available at campbell-lewis.com.
Kyle was born on July 26, 1953, at the old Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall, and was the son of Barry D. Gibbs and June Pauline Holt Gibbs, who survive of Blue Springs. Kyle was raised in the Blue Springs area where he graduated from Blue Springs High School in 1971. Kyle met Melinda Sue Bilquist while he was in high school, and they married each other on June 3, 1972. Kyle joined the United States Air Force in 1972, and that sent the newlywed couple to Santa Barbara County, Calif., where Kyle was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base as a missile man. He served for four years in the Air Force and then attended Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. Kyle’s career moved him to Missouri, Ohio and Texas, and then back to Missouri with Kyle and Melinda moving to Marshall in 1991. Kyle was employed by Marshall Municipal Utilities from 1991 to 2019 when he retired as General Manager of MMU. Kyle was a dedicated member of Marshall Optimist Club, having served in various offices through the years, as well as a baseball commissioner for kids in Marshall playing Little League Baseball. Kyle had a building that the Optimist Club used to fix many, many, many bags of popcorn. He also served as a Scout Master for many years with Boy Scout Troop 45. Kyle loved to fix things up and get the most use out of them. Working on cars, lawn mowers, or anyone else’s items that needed repair, or fixing and repairing things in the house brought him a lot of joy. Kyle invested his time and talents into helping others. The day before he passed away, he was helping Habitat For Humanity work on the house they are remodeling in Slater. Kyle never wanted the spot light to be on him, but was overjoyed to be able to be in the background to see other people happy and successful.
In addition to his wife, Melinda, he is survived by one son, Max Gibbs (Maria) of McKinney, Texas; three granddaughters that he absolutely adored, Bailey, Lydia and Gemma; his sister, Cindy Parnell (Steve) of Odessa, Mo.; as well as nieces, nephews and other extended family.
While Kyle was not preceded in death by any immediate human family members, he was preceded in death by his canine family member, Marshall, who joined him every day for a biscuit with strawberry jam at McDonald’s.
