Elder M. Wayne Gibbs

Elder M. Wayne Gibbs

Elder Wayne Gibbs, 74, died August 17, 2018 at Ogeechee Area Hospice in Statesboro, Georgia.  Born July 3, 1944 in Tifton, Georgia, he was the son of the late John Walton and Sara Dean Gibbs.  Growing up and working on the family farm in Turner County, he always appreciated the beauty of the land and the tenacity and hard work of farmers who tended the animals and produced the crops.  Gibbs was a graduate of Turner County High School and served in the United States Air Force.  A graduate of Birdwood College and Georgia Southern University, Elder Gibbs felt called to the ministry as a young man and was ordained in 1971 at Middleground Primitive Baptist Church.   During his faithful years of ministry he served the Middleground, Plant City, Metter, and Savannah Primitive Baptist Churches before retiring to Myrtle Beach, SC in 2010.

His wife of 41 years, Emily Stanford Gibbs, predeceased him on October 5, 2017.  He is survived by his two sons:  Jason Wayne Gibbs and his wife Lisa of Lexington, SC and Scott Preston Gibbs of Rome, GA; his sister:  Sara Joyce Griffis and her husband James Edward of Hazlehurst, GA; his brother:  John Walton Gibbs, Jr. and his wife Bobbie of McDonough, GA; three grandchildren:  Carlyn Gibbs, Grant Gibbs, and Weston Gibbs.  His sister, Melba Gibbs, brother Melvin and parents also predeceased Elder Gibbs.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 from 5pm -7pm at the Metter Primitive Baptist Church followed by the funeral on Thursday, August 23 at 10am at Metter Primitive Baptist Church in Metter, GA, with Elder W.H. (Bill) Durrence officiating.  Interment will follow on Thursday, August 23 at 4pm at Hickory Springs Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, 221 Hickory Springs Church Road, Tifton, Georgia with Elder W.H. (Bill) Durrence officiating.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to The Lodge at Bethany, 77 Bethany Way, Statesboro, GA, 30458.

Kennedy Funeral Homes--Hooks Chapel, Metter, is in charge of arrangements.