Estela Cristina Gibbon,103, of Arlington passed on Jan. 15 with her family at her side in the Falls Church Sunrise. Estela was born in Santiago, Dominica Republic on May 15, 1912.
Estela was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Edward E. Gibbon Sr., a 30-year Marine Corps Veteran and the Chief Deputy Sheriff of Arlington County.
She was the daughter of Ramon and Cristina Piola Vila, sister to Dolores, Mercedes, Jose, and Ramon, Jr. all who preceded her in their journey to eternity with God, as well as her grandson, Patrick.
Estela is survived by her sons who served in the US Navy and Marines Corps, Edward Jr., wife (Araceli), Jorome (Elizabeth), James, Richard (Karyn), and her daughter Teresa Stewart (John), as well as 12 grandchildren, and 14 great- grandchildren. She is survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews throughout the United States and Dominican Republic.
A traditional military family wife and mother, Estela traveled and lived in the Caribbean Islands, Hawaii and several U.S. Marine installations throughout the US from the 1930’s to 1960’s, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, before settling in Arlington.
Estela was active in the Arlington Catholic Diocese parishes of Saint Ann, Saint Agnes, and Saint James. She served as an officer in the Catholic Daughters in Northern Virginia.
Her vocations included baking ceremonial cakes, needlepoint, crochet, painting, and dancing. She was a volunteer at the Arlington Senior Citizens Center in Clarendon and worked for the Arlington Public Schools.
Catholic funeral mass will be held in her honor at St. James Catholic Church, in Falls Church, on March 5 at 10 a.m. She will be interned at 1 p.m., at the Arlington National Cemetery with her husband. Donations in her memory may be made to the Catholic Daughters of America.
