Dr. John M. Gibbons Jr.

Dr. John M. Gibbons Jr., beloved husband of Mary Peyser Gibbons, died after a brief illness on Saturday, July 22 at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford. A prominent physician, Dr. Gibbons was a man of outstanding medical and humanitarian accomplishments. He was born in New York City on February 25, 1933, the son of the late Dr. John M. Gibbons and Mary Francis Darr Gibbons. Dr. Gibbons was a graduate of the College of The Holy Cross, Georgetown University Medical School, and the Harvard Business School: Program for Health Systems Management. He completed his Internship and Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Saint Vincent?s Hospital, New York. After two years on the on the staff of Memorial Hospital in New York and North Shore Hospital, Manhasset, N.Y. he was appointed Chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Fordham Hospital, New York . In 1970 Dr. Gibbons joined Saint Francis Hospital as Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a position he held for more than 20 years. He was a pioneer in the area of maternal and fetal medicine, being the first physician in the Hartford area to become board certified in this sub-specialty. He founded the Maternal and Fetal Medicine Section at Saint Francis Hospital, which included a unique research laboratory. He was a leader, and innovator in addressing high-risk obstetrics and wrote a number of articles and chapters on women?s health issues. To honor all of his contributions, in 1996 the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology named its new Pavilion in the Patient Tower ?The John M. Gibbons Pavilion for Women.? In 1993 he assumed the position of Director of Medical Affairs until becoming Special Assistant to the President in 2001. For nearly 20 years he was a member of the Hospital Board, where he served on the Executive, Compensation and Finance Committees. He is currently an honorary member of that Board and a member of the Saint Francis Foundation Board. He also served as a board member at Bristol Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital, the Rehabilitation Hospital of Connecticut. Dr. Gibbons held numerous leadership positions at the local, regional and national levels within the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He became President of the College in 2003 where he led with distinction. The College honored him by establishing Student Awards in his name. He also held leadership positions in local and state medical societies including President of the Hartford County Medical Association and the Connecticut Society of Board Obstetricians & Gynecologists, and as Chair of the Connecticut State Medical Society. In addition to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists he was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Society of Perinatal Obstetricians; and, a member of the Hartford Medical Society and the New England Obstetrical and Gynecological Society. He is an honorary member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Ireland. In 2001 Dr. Gibbons was appointed to the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Health?s Child Health & Human Development. He became Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in 1978, and was subsequently appointed Associate Chair of the Department and Assistant Dean of Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Gibbons had a far reaching impact in the Hartford community where in addition to his involvement in the medical community he was a member of the Knights of Malta, served as a member of the Parish Council at Saint Patrick St Anthony; and, as a board member of the Capital Area Health Consortium, Medical Delivery Systems, Inc., and the Hartford Alcohol Detoxification & Rehabilitation Center. He had a lifelong interest in the arts and was on the board of the Greater Hartford Arts Council, and the Hartford Stage Company. In addition he was Chairman of the Hartford Ballet, an Overseer of the Bushnell, and a Corporator at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Of all of his many joys, what Dr. Gibbons loved most was the practice of medicine. He began his private practice in 1970 and continued seeing patients throughout his career right up until his death. As a Knight of Malta he had planned to extend his practice of medicine as a Committee member of the Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem. One of his great disappointments was that he was too ill to accept an invitation to teach at that hospital these coming weeks. Dr. Gibbons is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mary Peyser Gibbons and their five children: Catherine Gibbons Way, Mary Sloan and her husband, Spencer Sloan and Myles P. Gibbons and his wife, Tracy L. Gibbons all of West Hartford, CT ; John M. Gibbons III of London, England and Fredericka Kerr and her husband David Kerr of West Simsbury, CT. Dr. Gibbons was blessed with twelve grandchildren. He has a brother, Myles F. Gibbons of New York. He was predeceased by his sister Mary Sefton Nelson and his brother William Gibbons. He will be dearly missed by his patients, colleagues, friends and most of all, his loving family. His was a member of the Hartford Golf Club and the Lotus Club. The Molloy Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Thursday, July 27 at 10:00 a.m. at St Patrick Saint Anthony Church in Hartford. Calling hours will be at the Gibbons?s home on Wednesday, July 26 from 4p.m. to 7p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Saint Francis Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. John M. Gibbons Jr.

February 25, 1933 - July 22, 2006