West Branch, Iowa

Joan Kay Gibson passed away quietly on November 9, 2025, with her children at her bedside at Crestview Specialty Care Center in West Branch.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Thursday, November 13, 2025, at the United Methodist Church in West Branch. Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. Wednesday at the Henderson-Barker Funeral Home in West Branch. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the West Branch Fire Department, the West Branch United Methodist Church, or a hospice of the donor’s choice.

Joan was born July 13, 1940, in Iowa City, the daughter of Leland and Alice (Mundy) Moore. She lived her entire life in West Branch. On November 24, 1962, she married her high school sweetheart, Dean Gibson, and they shared 39 years together until his passing in 2001.

Joan was employed at the University of Iowa, the West Branch Animal Clinic, and later retired from the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.

She was an avid sports fan, following all things Hawkeye and cheering on the Chicago Cubs. Joan also enjoyed watching Brian race at Hawkeye Downs and attending West Branch Bears football games. She was a member of the West Branch United Methodist Church, the West Branch Chamber of Commerce where she served on the Christmas Past Committee, and the West Branch Booster Club.

Survivors include her daughter, Cathy Cohn (Gary); her son, Brian Gibson (Renae); grandchildren Matt Chinander (Cami), Sarah Cohn, Carly Lefebure (Brandon), Alex Gibson, and Sydney Wright (Jeff); and great-granddaughter Blakely Wright. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Janann Schiele.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dean; her sister, Joyce; her parents, Alice and Leland Moore; her son-in-law, John Chinander; her daughter-in-law, Jill Gibson; and her special friend, Larry Streets.