Jimmie Lee Gibbons, 89, of Paducah, Kentucky, passed away peacefully on April 18, 2026. Jim was born on October 19, 1936, in Lowndes, Missouri to Ruby and M.U. Gibbons. He grew up in Lowndes, where his father ran the local grocery store. After graduation from high school, Jim went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Missouri School of Mines at Rolla.
Following his college graduation, he secured a position with Western Electric Corporation, working on the nation’s first air defense system. Before moving to take that position, he married June Diane Gilliland on February 4, 1959. The couple moved several times for different jobs that Jim held before he acquired a position with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Once Jim began his career at NASA, he and Diane had three children, Patrick, Amy, and Charles, who all grew up in Pearland, Texas.
Jim worked at NASA for 35 years. During this time, he worked on many different space programs including, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. This work included the Apollo-Soyuz test project that was the first US-Soviet Union collaboration and paved the way for the International Space Station. He retired from NASA in 1997 with accolades for the excellent work completed over the years.
Beyond work and family, Jim had a deep love for trains (real and model), listening to music and old-time radio programs, reading science fiction, repairing old radios, and service to the community. He was an active member in the Lone Oak Lions Club for many years and worked to help find sponsors for the Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Show, the Lone Oak Lions Club’s largest fundraiser. He had a wonderful sense of humor and particularly loved bad puns and wordplay. Those who knew Jim will remember him for his generosity, humor, and warmth.
Jim is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Diane, his son Patrick Lee Gibbons and wife Tami, along with grandson Ian Patrick Gibbons, his daughter Dr. Amy Camille Andersen and husband Rik, youngest son Charles Andrew Gibbons and wife Dr. Tammy L. Turner, and sister Jeanette Ward, along with various nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, M.U. Gibbons and Ruby Simpson Gibbons.
A visitation and funeral service will be held on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Visitation will begin at 11:00 A.M., followed by the funeral service at noon, both taking place at Milner and Orr Funeral Home in Paducah, KY.
The family asks that expressions of sympathy take the form of gifts to one of the following:
Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607
Lone Oak Lions Club, In Care of Bob Toy, 235 Fairview Drive, Paducah, Kentucky 42001
Lions Club International, 300 West 22nd Street, Oak Brook, Illinois 60523-8842
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