W9PQO - December 14, 2003

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Harold 'Gib' Gibson Arden Hills, MN QCWA # 19965 Chapter 8

We have lost another of our old-timers. On December 14, 2003, Harold "Gib" Gibson, W9PQO, died at the age of 87. Harold was a member of QCWA Chapter 8 from about 1985 until his death.

"Gib," as he was known on the air, was first licensed about 1930. He held amateur radio station calls W9PQO, and W8UOR (1940-46). Harold also held Second Class Radio Telegraph, and First Class Radiotelephone commercial licenses with the radar endorsement.

During the thirties Harold was in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). For the period 1934-36 he "pounded brass" at station WVV of the Army Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. He also had some involvement with station WUGJ. During WW2 Harold was in the U.S. Navy, was on a ship which blew up, and in which he sustained fire damage which destroyed one of his lungs. During his Navy service he was also on the "Manhattan Project." Harold had a thirty-six year career as an electrical engineer with the power company in South Bend, IN.

A man of many interests, Harold had a private pilot license, and continued to fly until the early 80s. He had a sailboat on Lake Michigan, and was a lifetime firearm collector.

Harold was an ARRL life member, and was a member of OOTC, SOWP and QCWA.

After his wife's death, Harold lived with his daughter, Donna Parish, in Arden Hills, MN from 1985 to 1990. He joined the QCWA Chapter 8 at that time, and served as a Volunteer Examiner for radio amateur licenses during that period. In 1990 he moved with his daughter and her family to Missouri for a short period, thence to Yorba Linda, CA. He frequently spent summers with his friend Nellie Yoder, N9KAP, in South Bend, IN.

Harold suffered a mild stroke in 1992 which, combined with his lung damage and a heart problem, kept him from much physical activity. However, he got out daily via amateur radio. Harold was almost exclusively a CW operator, and could usually be found on 40 meters during the day. His second stroke in August 2003 precipitated the condition from which he died on December 14, 2003. We knew him as an excellent operator, always willing to go out of his way to help the neophyte amateur. He is missed.