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- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 1 Jan 1999.
Lloyd Melton Gibson obituary
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 26 Oct 1989.
Berlin Leatherwood obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 24 Jul 2006.
Canning didn't come easily to Irene Gibson
July 24, 2006
She was 16, newly married and trying to please her husband and his family. Irene was a city girl from Sevierville who fell in love with and married a country boy. She didn't know anything about farming. Her new husband grew tobacco, and this girl thought tobacco was a dreadful crop. And she sure didn't know her way around a garden or, for goodness sake, how to can vegetables.
"One day my mother-in-law told me to go get eight jars and to can some stuff," Irene Gibson recalled, laughing. "She wanted me to enter the fair. I didn't know any better."
She got the jars and stuffed them with vegetables. She didn't bother to wash the jars or the rings. She didn't win a thing in that year's Sevier County Fair. Or the next year or the next year. In fact she didn't win a ribbon at all for her canned food for many years. Puzzled and frustrated, she was determined to find out why. She began to study the winning entries, to ask questions of the other contestants, to read up on canning. And it turned around. She began to win. And she has kept on winning over these 43 years of marriage. She's got more ribbons than Starbucks has coffee shops.
That's not all. About 20 years ago she was asked to chair the canned goods committee for the fair, and that's been her volunteer work ever since. Yes, she still does enter her canned goods in the competition, but those entries are judged by people who can't identify any of the canners.
Gibson loves to can, but she doesn't garden. That's husband Lee's job. They moved the garden from their home in Sevierville to a friend's property outside the city on Gists Creek Road, because they were having a problem with beavers coming out of the river and eating the vegetables. Lee tends the garden and picks the vegetables. Irene cans them. That's the deal.
Irene Gibson loves canning and loves the fair, and she and her late mother-in-law became great friends. But maybe what is most special about Gibson is her sheer determination, her perseverance. Five times she has been stricken with cancer. Five times she has battled it successfully. She also has survived congestive heart failure. This is a tough gal.
Nineteen years ago she discovered a lump in her breast. That led to a radical mastectomy. For 10 years she was tested and showed no trace of cancer. Then two months after her 10-year clean bill of health, it was back.
"It was there full blast, in the same spot," she said.
From there it traveled to her other breast. She fought it with chemo and radiation. Then two years ago she was prescribed a new drug just approved by the FDA. Femara, which Gibson said is a male hormone, is a big yellow pill that gives her a fierce appetite she has to control, but also seems to have kept the cancer away and in remission.
"It's $300 a month, and I have to take one every day," she said. "I'll probably have to take it every day the rest of my life. It's a wonderful pill God gave men the knowledge to figure out."
Gibson saw her doctor earlier this week and was told she's fully in remission. That means she can concentrate on this year's fair, now under new management but with no changes in the canned foods contest. She'll enter green tomatoes, green beans, pickles and more.
"I'm not able to do as much as I once could," she said. "When you've been through chemo as much as I have, it breaks you back down. I just praise God he's allowed me to live this long."
Just like her vegetables, that's a sentiment worth preserving.
- Stan Voit is editor of The Mountain Press. His column appears each Sunday. He can be reached at 428-0748, ext. 217, or e-mail to svoit@themountainpress.com.
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 18 Jan 2016.
January 25, 1947 - January 18, 2016
Resided in Seymour, TN
Virginia Irene Gibson, age 68, of Seymour, passed away Monday, January 18, 2016. Irene was a member of Gists Creek Baptist Church. She was a dedicated employee of the dietary department at Fort Sanders Sevier Medical Center for 25 years. After her health prevented her from continuing her service to the patients at the hospital, she became more actively involved in the planning of the home canning department at the Sevier County Fair. Irene loved spending time with her family, especially her two great –grandsons. She was involved in the Sevier County Fair Association for many years and directed the home canning department. Irene loved to can fruits and vegetables, and took pride in her knowledge and presenting her items at the Sevier County Fair. 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Family and friends who knew Irene, knew what a fighter she was. She had battled various types of cancer for almost 30 years. She was the fifth person to receive a stem cell transplant in East TN. Irene fought a long difficult battle, but early Monday morning her body was healed as she entered peacefully into the arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The family would like to express their thanks to the compassionate caring doctors and staff at LeConte Medical Center. A special thank you to those family and friends who provided unsurpassed emotional, physical, and most importantly spiritual support during the last few days. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the family to help with funeral expenses.
Irene was preceded in death by her brothers, Boyd, Don, and Dwight Leatherwood. father and mother in law, Lloyd and Mayme Gibson, brothers-in-law, Sam Gibson and Kenneth Grayson.
Survivors: Husband of 52 years, Lee Roy Gibson
Sons and daughter in-law: Donald and Katie Gibson
Grandchildren: Ashlee and Brad Rader, Whitnee and Blake Galyon, great-grandchildren: Hayden Rader and Rylee Galyon.
Brothers and sisters-in-law: J B and Sue Leatherwood, Clay and Charlene Leatherwood, Marjorie Leatherwood
Sisters and brothers-in-law: Marie and David Eslinger, Glenda and David Ogle, Ann and Andy King
Brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Robert and Brenda Gibson, Tom and Jane Gibson, Joyce and Carl Watson, Danny Gibson, Alice Grayson, and Ann Leighty.
Extended family members: A host of nieces and nephews, special friends: Peggy Sallee, Linda Moore, Brant and Darren Runyan
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the family to help with funeral expenses.
Memorial service 7 PM Friday at Gists Creek Baptist Church with Rev. Dallas Moore and Rev. Bill Stephens officiating. The family will receive friend 5-7 PM Friday at Gists Creek Baptist Church. Cremation arrangements by Atchley Funeral Home, Seymour. (Www.atchleyfuneralhome.com)
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1947 - 2016 (68 years)
, d. 26 Oct 1989 (Age 74 years)