Iva Elizabeth Gibson

Iva Elizabeth Gibson, 87, of Burnsville, NC, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

She is survived by her husband, Cdr. Bobby Lee Gibson, USN, Retired; her daughter, Susan Gaskill; son, Robert Gibson and his wife, Sharon; son, Daniel Gibson and his wife LeeAnn; grandchildren, Mark Gaskill, Dean Gibson, and Savannah Gibson; her twin brother, David Oscar Edwards; sister, Laura Angeline Edwards Foust; and many loving extended family members.

Elizabeth was born in Asheville, NC to William Burton Edwards and Anne Lee Price Edwards. She graduated with the last class of Fairview High School in 1955. She attended Western Carolina University and what is now UNC-Asheville.

She met Bobby Gibson in Asheville, NC and they soon became fast friends and life-long partners. They were married in Asheville in 1958. She created a loving and supportive home for Bobby and their children, across many states, through Bobby’s Navy career and beyond. Her artistic gifts were evident in all her accomplishments in design, her expert dressmaking and sewing, and delicious cooking. She and Bobby were active in church and community everywhere they lived. She was forever sharing with everyone her friendliness, warmth, compassion, and sharp sense of humor, as well as the fruits of her many talents. She especially loved to cook and bake for others.

A private burial will be held in the WNC Veterans Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be scheduled in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the charity of your choice. Please consider those that are directly supporting the continued relief work for recovery from Hurricane Helene in western NC.

Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Road in Asheville is assisting the family.