A celebration of life for Dorothy Gibbs will be held on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Estes Park United Methodist Church, 1509 Fish Hatchery Rd., Estes Park.
A longtime Estes Park resident, Dorothy, died in Switzerland on July 21, 2025. She was born to Ewing C. Scott and Dorothy Carnine Scott on May 8, 1927.
Dorothy met her husband, George Gibbs, in Lynchburg, Virginia, not far from Sweetbriar Women’s College, where her father was a professor of chemistry. Dorothy developed her love of travel in Brazil, where her father brought his family on a sabbatical.
Dorothy and George were married on April 16, 1949. And the couple moved to Japan where George was stationed with the U.S. Army until the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in 1950. Dorothy remained in Japan and taught English as a Foreign Language to Japanese students while George served with the 1st Cavalry Division.
After George’s service and college at the University of Virginia, the couple returned to Japan for three years as fraternal workers with the Presbyterian Church. On their way back to the U.S., they traveled for six months to Hong Kong, the Malay Peninsula, Burma, Assam, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, and through Europe
The Gibbs made lifelong friends and inspired lasting friendships between their children as well, leaving a legacy of international harmony, understanding, and multicultural education.
Returning to the U.S., Dorothy taught Latin and served as the Junior Classical League sponsor at Fairmont High School. She was beloved not only by her students but by all who knew her and were inspired by her example.
In her spare time, she founded the Arthur Rackham Society in honor of the famed British fantasy illustrator.
In her final days, Dorothy joined protests supporting her beloved Rocky Mountain National Park, where she and George had volunteered for many years, and she once again made international news when she protested on March 1, 2025 at Rocky when federal workers were furloughed.
Dorothy is survived by her son, Peter, and a myriad of nieces, cousins, and both blood and chosen family, distributed across every continent but Antarctica.