Hannah H. Gibson, 79, of Andover, Mass, died Sunday, January 21 of pneumonia at Lawrence General Hospital. She was born August 31, 1938 in her childhood home in Orono, Maine. Hannah Emily Hinman was the only child of Havilah E. Hinman and Margaret E. Miller. When her parents divorced in 1946 she moved to Burlington, Vermont with her mother and spent summers visiting her father and his new family in Asheville, North Carolina. Hannah graduated from Burlington High School in 1956 and from the University of Vermont in Burlington in 1960. While there she met Alexander D. “Sandy” Gibson, Jr. on a blind date, and they were married September 3, 1960 in Burlington, Vermont. Hannah and Sandy moved to Andover, Mass shortly thereafter and began raising their family.
Hannah Gibson fully embraced her role as a homemaker. Along with managing a busy household of four children, she spent much time supporting her husband’s excavation business by handling much of the paperwork and phone calls associated with a business run from the home. Hannah also helped to transform the Andover home from a small camp into a full sized home. Her interior decorating included many hours of painting and wallpapering their house. In 1976 Hannah and Sandy bought a neglected farm in Grafton, New Hampshire. Here she threw herself into helping to fix up the interior of an old farmhouse. The result was a comfortable and welcoming place to spend family weekends.
Hannah was involved with several other interests and activities. She found time to develop her talents as an artist. Hannah appreciated all mediums of art, but particularly loved collage and painting. She enjoyed painting at Plum Island and in Grafton, spending time in her home studio, taking art classes at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Essex Art Center in Lawrence and participating in area art shows. Hannah spent many years volunteering her time at Christ Episcopal Church in Andover. She enjoyed flower gardening, sewing, reading, the company of the family dogs, spending time at the place in Grafton, and being with her family.
Hannah was a New Englander and could trace her family history to the early days of Andover and other parts of New England. She fully appreciated the landscape of New England. From the seacoast to the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, she loved the natural beauty of the region. Hannah was known for her perseverance, stoicism, independence, creativity, sincerity, integrity and her caring and self-sacrificing ways. Above all, Hannah will be remembered for her devotion to her family. Her primary interest was always the well-being of her husband and children, and she will be sorely missed by her family and friends.
Hannah was recently predeceased by her husband, Alexander D. Gibson, Jr. and her son, Peter D. Gibson of Gorham, Maine. She is survived by her sons, Steven H. Gibson and his wife Donna of Walpole, Mass, Scott M. Gibson and his wife Jo-Anne of Andover, Mass., her daughter Alison (Gibson) Milne and her husband David of Andover, Mass. and her daughter-in-law Louise (Drouin) Gibson of Gorham, Maine. She leaves her eight grandchildren, Emily, Meghan, Sarah, Derek, Christopher, Andrew, Isabelle, and Sophia. She also leaves her brother Mike Hinman and his wife Letha of Asheville, N.C.
Arrangements are under the care of the Burke-Magliozzi Funeral Home of Andover, Mass. A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, February 10 at 3 pm at The Chapel in West Parish Garden Cemetery in Andover. Following the service family and friends are invited to gather at St. Augustine’s Parish Hall from 4-6 pm. Burial will be in the spring at Spring Grove Cemetery in Andover. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations made to the American Lung Association would be much appreciated.