Dates
Randy Don Gibbs, son, brother, uncle, friend, was born on July 30, 1956 in Brady, Texas. He was the first son of his parents, but was quickly followed by two beautiful sisters and one smart little brother. He had a good childhood and even though he did not come from the richest of families in wealth, he came from one very rich with love. Randy and his siblings were taught from a young age that hard work pays off and that you get out of life what you put into it. They spent their younger years getting up at the first peek of sunlight to go feed and take care of their horses, even when that meant heading out in the freezing cold to break ice and feed or in the blazing Texas heat, they were there to give what the horses needed. Their dedication to these animals showed that they have a selfless way of loving and giving always. This is a trait that Randy was known for. Uncle Randy (as most know him) was the quietest of the 4 without a doubt. He was often seen sitting back just observing and taking it all in, listening and smiling as the rest of our talkative family gabbed on and on. He was a man of few words, but a huge heart, and warm smiles. He was the protector of the siblings and filled the big brother role well, always setting a good example of what hard work and selflessness was. His nieces and nephew would describe him as the uncle that was always at Gran's ready to enjoy time with family, help work on cars, dig things out of the old garage for them to play with, helpful with the horses out back and willing to play with the grandbabies in the den. He didn't have his own children, but he enjoyed his time with all of his nieces, his nephew, and later their children too.
Randy spent his life working in construction. He held long hours and was never afraid to put in the time and effort it took to get the job done. In that work he would be described as dutiful, tireless, and tough. When he wasn't working, he enjoyed spending time working with racehorses. Randy spent many of his young adult years at G. Rollie White Downs, the American Quarterhorse Racing Track in Brady, Texas. He and his father Donnie shared this love of horseracing and spent a lot of their time breaking and training race horses there. You could almost always find them at the track on race days and really any other day in between. One of his nieces recalled fondly visiting the track as a young girl and Uncle Randy made a makeshift swing seat out of a horse bridle in which he would hang from the pole of the round horse walker and she would ride it round and round as the horses walked in the circle. He really was a great uncle, she shared.
In Randy's later years, he moved back to his hometown of San Angelo where the rest of his family resided. He lived with his mother, Ruth where the two of them would sit, read the paper, and enjoy coffee and the best gravy & biscuits known to man together in the mornings, around the little round table in the kitchen. The two of them had a very special bond and were always a package deal, always attending family functions together. Where you found Gran, you could always find Uncle Randy too. He helped take care of the family's childhood home where we would all gather for holidays and just time together.
Randy was a handsome cowboy in every sense of the word. On the rare occasion that you could find him without the long work day's dirt on him, he would dress up in his button up shirts, boots, jeans and cowboy hat, looking dapper for sure. But one thing that always stood out were his striking blue eyes. There's a song about the bluest eyes in Texas, and it is possible that those eyes belonged to Randy Gibbs. They were the color of the blue Texas skies, so when you look up into that great big blue each day, smile and say a little hello to Uncle Randy, as if that beautiful blue sky is his eyes looking down over you.
Unfortunately, death suddenly took him away from us. It is difficult knowing that with the unexpectedness of his loss, we did not get to tell him goodbye. But we must hold in our hearts that he knew how much he was loved. For those of us left on this earth to mourn the loss of his presence, we must remember that those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard (which he often was on earth with his quiet nature), but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear. Losing one we love does not mean that we must learn to live without him, but we now live with the love that he left behind. Randy has taken his place in heaven and has been reunited with his parents to live forever in the glory of the Lord. He knows no more pain and has been given his heavenly body where pain and tiredness have gone away. There is no doubt he, Gran and Pa are watching over us, protecting us from heaven, living in the glory of their eternal lives, in the most heavenly place of which we someday will all arrive too.
It is said in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-14, "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him."
So, as I already shared, let's take a moment to look up into that Texas sky, as blue as Randy's eyes and smile because Uncle Randy is reflected in those skies as his warmth wraps around each and every one of us today and every day letting us know that he is with us here in our hearts forever.
A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at Lawnhaven Memorial Gardens at 2:00 PM.