James Lawrence Gibson

Dr. James Lawrence Gibson, 81, died Monday, March 6, 2017 in Danville, Ky. Born August 10, 1935, he was the son of the late James Patrick and Lucille Case Gibson of Danville, Kentucky. He was a 1953 graduate of Danville High School, a 1957 graduate of Centre College and earned his M.B.A. from the University of Kentucky in 1958 and his PH.D. in Business Administration from the University of Kentucky in 1962. Jim joined the UK faculty as a Teaching Assistant in 1957 and as Instructor in Commerce until 1962, when he accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Business at the University of Texas in Arlington in 1963. He rejoined the Centre College faculty as Assistant Professor of Business and Economics in 1964 and served as Associate Professor from 1964-1966. He returned to UK in 1966 as Associate Professor of Business, reaching full professorship in 1972. Jim was awarded the Kincaid Professor of Management in 1987, serving until his retirement from teaching in 1997. He also chaired the Departments of Business Administration and Management, served as Director of Graduate Studies and as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Dr. Gibson, along with J.M. Ivancevich and J. H. Donnelly, co-authored eight text books in Business Management and contributed to three other textbooks during his writing career. These successful textbooks were issued in multiple editions. The most successful, Organization: Behavior, Structure and Processes, published by McGraw Hill, was issued in 14 editions and five languages, and was in continuous publication for 40 years. In recent years, Jim was inducted into the UK Alumni Hall of Fame, and honored by the Danville High School and Centre College Alumni Associations as a Distinguished Alumnus. Jim enjoyed golf, fishing, scuba diving and travel, especially Scotland, Ireland and Europe. He was a veteran of the Kentucky National Guard, a member of the U.S. Navy League and sailed several times with the crews of U.S. Navy destoyers and frigates on sea duty. He was a member of The Presbyterian Church, Danville. His professional memberships include the American Economics Association, American Management Association, American Academy of Management, Midwest and Southern Academy of Management. He was predeceased by his parents, a brother, Jason Carl \"Jack\" Gibson and his wife of 39 years, Dianne Richardson Gibson, who died in 1999. Surviving are his wife, Patty Gabbard Gibson; a son, Steven (Kathleen) Gibson of Clermont, Florida, and a daughter, Kimberly (Mark) Pascuzzi of Winchester, Kentucky, granddaughters, Lauren Gibson, Angela (Logan) Sallee, Lisa Pascuzzi and a great-grandson, Owen Sallee. Also surviving are two stepsons, Robert (Lana) Gabbard and Kelley Gabbard; six step-granddaughters, Lydia, Madeleine, Charlotte, Hillary, Elizabeth and Margaret Gabbard; two sisters, Jean (Ted) Sutton, Janet (Jerry) Eldridge, a brother, Joe (Paula) Gibson and a sister-in-law, Regina Gibson, all of Danville and several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be 11 a.m., Friday, March 10, 2017, at The Presbyterian Church. Rev. James Stewart will officiate. The family will receive friends in the Fellowship Hall following the service. Memorial gifts are suggested to Heritage Hospice, The Presbyterian Church or Centre College.