John Gibler, forever a Seahawk
A bona fide son of Rehoboth, John Gibler quietly passed away Saturday, April 26, 2025.
A Beebe baby, John attended Rehoboth Elementary, Rehoboth Jr. High, and Cape Henlopen High School. For brief intermittent periods of his adult life, John spent time in a couple of places, but never could say he lived there. Home would forever be Rehoboth.
A standout lacrosse and football player at Cape Henlopen, in his senior year, John was decorated with the Sam Russell Award. He went on to Wesley College and played linebacker, earning a starting spot as a freshman. John had a deep love for football and treasured his experience on the gridiron until his last days. This love of football manifested itself in his passionate, at times somewhat volatile, love for the Dallas Cowboys and Penn State Nittany Lions.
In the summer of 1987, John was a rookie with the Rehoboth Beach Patrol and thus began a career that can only be described as legendary (on and off the guard stand). “Gibby,” as the guards called him, was a beloved fixture on the patrol for close to a decade and served as a lieutenant until an unfortunate injury to his Achilles heel during a workout abruptly ended his time with the RBP. Never one to complain or express his feelings openly, those close to John knew he never fully got over the outcome of this event and carried the internal pain of the loss with him till the end. There have been many characters, outlaws, free spirits, and success stories on the Rehoboth Beach Patrol, but there was never one where being a Rehoboth Beach lifeguard meant more than it did for Gibby.
Tall, John was fittingly built like a linebacker. Coupling with these attributes with his quiet demeanor, it would be easy to say he was standoffish or aloof, but in reality, he was painfully shy and never comfortable in unfamiliar situations or around strangers. He was sensitive to others' feelings, fiercely loyal to his friends, and possessed an astonishing memory that, true to his nature, would reveal itself at times for the most unusual and obscure events, situations, or people.
During his prime, John could raise hell with the best of them, and did, but as Rehoboth began to change, he withdrew. Sightings became rarer until he disappeared entirely. He had a small circle of childhood friends he sporadically kept in touch with, and it was with them that, in the John sort of way, he revealed the inevitability of change, particularly to Rehoboth, which cut him to the core. Finally, he just wanted to go “Home,” which for John, was Rehoboth as it once was.
John is preceded in death by his mother, Donna Goodwin Gibler and her partner Joy Reese of Millsboro; maternal grandparents, Paul and Hilda Goodwin; and maternal great-grandparents, John and Lettie Simpler of Rehoboth Beach.
He is survived by his aunt, Jill Goodwin Mitchell and her husband Perry of Ocean View; and his cousins, Grant Murray III, Tyler Murray, Elise Murray, Kristen Murray, Tayler Murray and Noelle Grace, all of Millsboro.
Rehoboth will never be the same without you, John. Rest easy.
A GoFundMe page has been created for John at the following link: gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-john-gibler.
