Patricia (Witzel) Gibb

Patricia (Pat) Witzel Gibb, passed away on September 3, at age 91, in Philadelphia where she moved in 2017. She always considered herself first and foremost a “Jersey girl,” with a great love of the Jersey shore.

Patricia was born in St. Barnabas Hospital in Newark in 1928 and spent her childhood in Kearny, Lawrence Harbor and Cliffwood Beach with her parents: Thelma and George Witzel and her three younger sisters: Joan Riker, Judy Coleman and Lynda Tufts. She was a 1946 graduate of Matawan High School and worked for Standard Oil in Edison, NJ until 1950, when she married Arthur Edgar Gibb of Keansburg, NJ. The couple resided for most of their 36-years together in Middletown with their two children: Samantha and Guy. Arthur died in 1986. 

In 1970, after a 24-year hiatus, Pat set her energies toward continuing her education earning an AA degree in 1974 from Brookdale Community College, where she was employed as a Learning Assistant in the Business school. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Kean College in 1979 and went on to earn a master’s degree in Education from Rutgers University in 1983. Patricia then became a full-time instructor in Personal Finance at Brookdale until retiring in 1989 to pursue her love of travel and her love of children. Over the next two decades Patricia volunteered as a court-appointed child advocate in Ocean County, NJ. Her travels took her to Alaska, Mexico, Greece, Austria, several US National Parks, England, Scotland (multiple times), and French Polynesia. 

Patricia is survived by her sister, Lynda Tufts, her daughter, Samantha Gibb Roff, her son, Guy Alexander Gibb (Michele), four grandchildren: Slade M. Roff (Jeffrey Parker), Gitano J. Gibb, Amber Gibb and Zachary Gibb and many nieces and nephews.

Services are planned for Sunday, September 8 at Koller Funeral Home, 6835 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19128. Visitation at 1 pm and Memorial service at 2 pm. 

Patricia and Arthur adopted their children and were champions of the adoption experience. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to A Loving Choice Adoption Associates, Shrewsbury, NJ. alovingchoice.org.

KOLLER FUNERAL HOME

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