Charlene Lashbrook Gibbs died peacefully at home on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015. She was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on August 11, 1929, to Gladys and Raymond Lashbrook. She graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1947 where she asked her future husband Paul on their first date. Charlene and Paul were married at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City, Kansas, in 1950 during their senior year in college. Charlene graduated from the University of Kansas in 1951 where she majored in home economics and was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
After graduation, the Air Force took them to San Antonio before they settled back in the Kansas City area – eventually Prairie Village – where their three children were born. Subsequent moves took them to Lawrence, Kansas, Toronto, Canada, and back again to Prairie Village and Leawood, Kansas, but everywhere they went, Charlene made sure their home was firmly established and life was celebrated.
She volunteered as Cub Scout den mother, Girl Scout troop leader, and homeroom mother. She was a member of St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church where she served for many years on the Altar Guild. Charlene was a member of the Junior League of Kansas City, Kansas, she volunteered for the Crippled Children’s Nursery School (now Children’s Therapeutic Learning Center), Children’s Mercy Hospital Cardiac Auxiliary, and was an active member of PEO. Her family was always her priority and she brought joy and beauty to their lives.
Charlene was deeply loved and will be terribly missed by her family: Paul, her best friend, sweetheart and devoted husband of 64 years; her son Scott Gibbs, his wife Anna and their children, Paul J. Gibbs, John Gibbs and his wife Meghan; her son Steve Gibbs and his wife Narda Lebo; and her daughter Carolyn (Carrie) and husband Rick Nelson. Charlene’s brother Kent Lashbrook also survives her.
A memorial service celebrating the life of Charlene will be held at St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church, 67th and Nall Ave., Mission, Kansas, on Sunday, April 19, at 2:00pm. The family wishes to thank the caregivers of Menorah Medical Center, Claridge Court, and Continua Hospice for the care they provided Charlene. They also suggest memorials, in lieu of flowers, to St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 6630 Nall Ave., Mission, Kansas, 66202. Assistance by Funeral Advocates, LLC Arr: Signature Funerals. www.cathyb6.sg-host.com