Elder Francis Marion Gibbons, emeritus General Authority Seventy, died on July 16, 2016, at the age of 95. Elder Gibbons died in his sleep in his home in Salt Lake City.
During his assignment as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Gibbons served in different departments of the Church and was in multiple area presidencies around the world.
From 1986-87 he served as second counselor in the South America North Area; from 1987-89 he served as president of the Brazil Area; from 1989-1990, he served as second counselor in the North America Southwest Area, and then, in 1990, he served as first counselor in that area.
In 1989 he also accepted the assignment to serve as the assistant executive director of the Curriculum Department. Other assignments included working in the boundary and leadership change department and as assistant executive director of the Family History Department.
Elder Gibbons was born on April 10, 1921, to Adeline Christensen and Andrew Smith Gibbons in St. Johns, Arizona. According to his obituary, he was known as “Frank” to his family and friends and was the youngest of five children. He served in the Southern States Mission from 1942-1944. Upon his return from his mission, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
He married Helen Bay in the Salt Lake Temple on June 7, 1945; they have four children, 18 grandchildren and 42 great-grandchildren. Sister Gibbons died on Aug. 2, 2015.
Elder Gibbons earned his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1949 and a juris doctorate from the University of Utah in 1951. For 19 years he practiced law in Salt Lake City at the firm of Senior & Senior until he was asked to serve as the secretary to the First Presidency in 1970. In that assignment, he served with many Church leaders, including President Joseph Fielding Smith, President Harold B. Lee, President Spencer W. Kimball and President Ezra Taft Benson. He served in that assignment for 16 years.
According to his obituary, while serving as stake president Elder Gibbons encouraged his stake members to develop their hidden talents. In an effort to do what he taught he decided to write a biography of Joseph Smith. He wrote biographies of 14 of the latter-day prophets.
Upon his release as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Gibbons was called to serve as Patriarch at Large for the Church; he gave patriarchal blessings at Church headquarters to people who lived outside the boundaries of stakes. He also served as patriarch in the Salt Lake Ensign Stake.
A funeral is scheduled for Saturday, July 23, at 11 a.m. in the Ensign Stake Center, 135 A Street, Salt Lake City, Utah. A viewing will take place the evening before from 6 to 8 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple, and at the Church building prior to the funeral from 9:30 to 10:40 a.m.
