Gibbs family was 'almost an institution' in Kalispell

When Howard and Leona Gibbs decided to move their family from Kalispell to Spokane in 1971, the community felt the loss deeply.

A Daily Inter Lake editorial about the Gibbs’ departure noted the family “has almost been an institution in Kalispell.

“It is a family which has earned respect from the community and gets it. They are the type of people any community hates to lose.”

Howard was a Main Street fixture as the owner of a shoe shine parlor. Leona worked as a nurse at Kalispell General Hospital. Their children, Roger and Cora, are both graduates of Flathead High School.

When Roger was critically injured in a car accident in 1969 the community rallied to support the Gibbs family. When Roger was barely clinging to life, his friends filled the hospital chapel and prayed for over an hour. Benefit dances were held. The Inter Lake chronicled the aftermath, detailing the extent of Roger’s injuries. Five teens were thrown out of the car after Gibbs’ station wagon rolled at least three times. Marshall Noice, a well-known Kalispell artist, was among the passengers and suffered a concussion.

In a telephone interview from his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home, Roger said he never fully recovered from the accident that left him partially paralyzed on his left side. He was 18 at the time of the crash, and had been active in high school sports, earning a spot on the Braves football team.

“Mom was on duty [at the hospital] when they brought me in,” Roger said. He was flown to a Great Falls hospital for treatment of a fractured skull.

Roger, now 66, endured several ensuing operations, but went on to study music therapy at Eastern New Mexico University. He worked as a music therapist at a state hospital in Medical Lake, Washington, for 18 years.

He’s also an accomplished musician who still enjoys jamming with fellow musicians. Roger started taking piano lessons in Kalispell at age 5.

Roger has been back to Kalispell several times through the years.

“I loved Kalispell. I was blessed to be able to grow up at the time I did,” he said. “It was a cross between ‘The Jeffersons’ and ‘Leave It To Beaver.’ Most black musicians I jam with, our upbringing is completely opposite.”

There was the occasional spat with other kids, he acknowledged, but he shrugged it off.

“Every once in a while someone would get stupid,” he said.

His sister Cora, a 1971 Flathead graduate, also pursued a career in social services, working as a chemical dependency professional for 15 years. After that she worked with domestic violence victims at a shelter for women and children in Spokane.

“Kalispell was a really good place to grow up, but there was still prejudice,” Cora, 63, recalled. “There was name-calling. My brother and I would get in fights with other kids as teenagers.”

There were a few other black families in town during her childhood, but her circle of friends included only white children.

“You can’t ignore it,” she said about the racial friction. “It’s kind of like the elephant in the room.”

Cora said she’s a lot like her gregarious father.

“He always had an opinion, was really outspoken. I’m kind of like him,” she said. “My dad was great. He loved to joke.”

Cora said she has never returned to Kalispell since leaving shortly after high school graduation.

“I have no bad feelings,” she said about her hometown. “I think it’s just, you can’t ever go home again.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.