Helen Ethel Gibson

Ethel Arnold Gibson

Ethel Arnold Gibson, a resident of Denver, Colorado died on Monday, January 4 in Denver. She was 96. A funeral mass was held on January 7 at the Church of the Risen Christ. Burial was in the family plot at the Lusk, Wyoming cemetery.

She was born February 7, 1902 in Junction City, Kansas. Her father Edward M. Arnold came from Kansas City to Wyoming at the age of 17 in 1879 and settled in the area around Lusk, Wyoming. He was a pioneer cattle and sheep rancher. In 1898 he married Anna C. Berggren, who came to America from Gevle, Sweden. They had two children, Ethel, and her younger sister, Lillian. Ethel and Lillian had a half brother and sister, Thomas Arnold and Ella Arnold.

Ethel and Lillian were raised in Lusk and were educated in Cheyenne at the Holy Child Jesus Convent. They went on to attend the University of California at Berkley where Ethel was a member of the Phi Mu Fraternity. She graduated with a degree in English and Education in 1924, and taught elementary school in the San Francisco Bay area for several years. She returned to Lusk where she married George Gibson on January 10, 1929. They had one daughter, Georgeann C. Gibson.

George and Ethel owned and operated the Midwest Hardware and Furniture Store in Lusk, and established the Midwest Skelgas Company, one of the first propane dealerships in the United States. They also owned the Sheridan Hotel in Gordon, Nebraska and a half-interest in the Washakie Hotel in Worland, Wyoming.

Their lifelong interests were the people and their activities in Lusk and Niobrara County, Wyoming.

Ethel was in addition to her many activities, active in the American Legion, George being Vice-Commander of the Wyoming Legion for several years. George was also a member of the Wyoming Natural Resources Board, and George and Ethel met several times in Washington, D.C. with Senator O'Mahoney and Barrett, among others, regarding developing Wyoming Industry.

They lived in Lusk until George's death on March 1, 1960. Ethel soon thereafter moved to Denver to be near her daughter, Georgeann, son-in-law James Ryan, and their four children, Kathleen, Mary, Karen, and Mark and later to come, ten great grandchildren.

Ethel's greatest dedication was to her family although she was involved with many civic and religious organizations such as the St. Joseph's Hospital Auxiliary, the Symphony Guild, the Little Sisters of the Poor, University of California Alumnae and P.E.O. Her other interests were travel, bridge, and book clubs.

She is survived by her daughter, Georgeann, four grandchildren, and ten great grandchildren. She will be remembered by friends and family of all ages whose lives she touched.

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