Elder Wayne Gibbs, 74, died Friday, August 17, 2018 at Ogeechee Area Hospice in Statesboro. His funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, August 23, 2018, at Metter Primitive Baptist Church in Metter with Elder W.H. “Bill” Durrence officiating. Elder Gibbs will be laid to rest at 4:00 p.m. Thursday, August 23, 2018, at Hickory Springs Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery with Elder W.H. “Bill" Durrence officiating. The family will receive friends Wednesday, August 22, 2018, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Metter Primitive Baptist Church.
Born July 3, 1944 in Tifton, Elder Gibbs was the son of the late John Walton and Sara Dean Gibbs. He was also preceded in death by his wife of 41 years, Emily Stanford Gibbs, who passed away on October 5, 2017; one sister, Melba Gibbs; and one brother Melvin Gibbs.
Growing up and working on the family farm in Turner County, he always appreciated the beauty of the land and the tenacity and hard work of farmers who tended the animals and produced the crops. Gibbs was a graduate of Turner County High School and served in the United States Air Force. A graduate of Birdwood College and Georgia Southern University, Elder Gibbs felt called to the ministry as a young man and was ordained in 1971 at Middleground Primitive Baptist Church. During his faithful years of ministry he served the Middleground, Plant City, Metter, and Savannah Primitive Baptist Churches before retiring to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2010.
Elder Gibbs is survived by two sons and one daughter-in-law, Jason Wayne and Lisa Gibbs of Lexington, South Carolina and Scott Preston Gibbs of Rome; one sister and brother-in-law, Sara Joyce and James Edward Griffis of Hazlehurst; one brother and sister-in-law, John Walton Jr. and Bobbie Gibbs of McDonough; and three grandchildren, Carlyn Gibbs, Grant Gibbs, and Weston Gibbs.
The family requests that memorial donations be made to The Lodge at Bethany, 77 Bethany Way, Statesboro, GA, 30458.