Julian "Jevie" Gibson passed away February 17, 2015. Julian was born in Madison, North Carolina, March 31, 1922, to the late Robert Walker Gibson and Briney Lou Brim Gibson. He was, also, preceded in death by brothers , Hubert Gibson and Mike Gibson, and sisters, Lois McKinney and India Frazier, and step-son Brantly Brodt Braswell. 

When Mr. Gibson was seven years old, both parents had passed away. It was 1929, the height of the Depression, when he and three of his siblings came to live at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Methodist Children's Home. Although he worked hard on the farm while he was growing up, he often spoke fondly of his years, his friends, and the wonderful positive influence of the adults who worked with the 400 children who lived there. He played on the varsity football, baseball, and basketball teams. A football injury forced him to miss a semester of high school; therefore he graduated from R. J. Reynolds High School in January, 1942. He worked at the Children's Home as house parent for young boys until May of that year, when he went to work in the Newport News Ship Building and Drydock Company in Virginia. 
January 6, 1943, Mr. Gibson entered the U. S. Naval Air Corps, and in October, 1943, he married Louise Fowler. He trained at the University of Virginia, Roanoke College, the University of North Carolina, and other facilities to later become a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater aboard the USS Cabot Aircraft Carrier. He remained in the US Naval Air Corps for three years and eight months and attained the rank of Lt. jg. 

After WWII he was honorably discharged, and he entered Lenoir Rhyne College on a football scholarship. He, his wife, and daughter lived in the GI Barracks, and he worked at the Hickory Stockyards, did yardwork for the Moretz family, and hung street decorations for Christmas in several North Carolina towns. He later earned an MA and Sixth Year Degrees in Educational Administration at UNCG. 

Mr. Gibson is survived by his wife of 30 years, Nancy Turner Braswell Gibson, sons Robert (Patsy) of Durham, NC, and Richard (Nancy) of Greensboro, NC, a daughter, Pat Addison of Winston-Salem; stepdaughters, Beverly Bras-well Applestone of Smyrna, Ga., and Shelly Whittington of Winston-Salem, daughter-in-law, Beth Braswell; grandsons, Beau (Dawn) Gilleland and Patrick (Jenny) Addison; granddaughters, Jennifer, Kerry, and Julia Gibson; step-grandchildren, Brandon, Carter, and Courtney Whitt-ington, Brantly and Davis Braswell, Austin and Ansley Applestone, Jessica Potts (Devin), Jim (Shan) and Mike Addison, and Jill (Joseph) Kilby; and great grandchildren, Quinn and Caroline Gilleland, Alexa Nigriny, and Savannah Addison. 

Julian was present on October 3, 1930, on the opening day of Centenary United Methodist Church, where he remained active until his later years. Julian began his career as a biology teacher and coach at Mineral Springs High School in 1949. He became principal at the grades 1-12 South Fork School in1951, and he moved to the principalship of Northwest High School in 1955. 

In 1963 he opened North Forsyth High School, where he served as principal until he retired in 1984. Mr. Gibson was an expert gardener and an avid golfer, who continued to shoot under his age late in life. In 2002, he was honored to have an elementary school (located in the community where he served for 30 years) named Julian Gibson Elementary School. 

MAY 24, 2013 – Fifty years after Julian Gibson opened North Forsyth High School as its first principal, the school honored him by dedicating the 2013 yearbook to him today.

Teachers who worked with him and former students were among those on hand when Principal Rodney Bass presented Gibson with a copy of the yearbook during the school’s annual Senior Class Day, which recognizes seniors who have received scholarships along with other student achievements.

Gibson, 91, was principal from 1963 until 1984. He said that he was surprised and honored by the dedication and that his years at North were satisfying ones. “I enjoyed the kids and the parents and the teachers. I had good support.”

Bass said that Gibson worked hard to establish a positive atmosphere at North. “We’re honoring a true legend for North Forsyth,” Bass said. “Hopefully, we can carry on what he started for us.”

Most years, the yearbook is dedicated to a current teacher at the school, said yearbook adviser Sheila Beverly. But, with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the school coming up and the yearbook’s theme being “Then & Now,” everyone thought it would be appropriate to dedicate it to Gibson.

Beverly graduated from North in 1972, so Gibson was the principal when she went there. That was during the early years of integration, she said, and he did a wonderful job in dealing with the related turmoil.

“He was a leader in bringing that harmony for kids to be joined together for a good education,” she said.

Jim Lewis, now retired, came to North as a teacher in 1969. One of the things he appreciated about working with Gibson, Lewis said, was his straightforward manner.

“You always knew where you stood with him,” he said. “When he said something, you knew that was exactly what he meant.”

One of Gibson’s sayings was, “If you can’t be on time, be early,” and he followed that philosophy himself. He arrived earlier than most everyone, Lewis said, and each morning he walked the halls making sure that everything was as it should be. 

“He treated everyone the same, and when he thought something needed fixing, he said what he had to say in a pleasant way,” Lewis said. “The best boss I have ever worked for.”

Gibson hired Marie Furches, who is now retired, as a teacher after she graduated from Appalachian State University in 1980. “He was the absolute most wonderful principal to work for,” Furches said. “He was like a silent teacher, in a sense. He led by example. You learned so much from him by how he led the school. He was so observant. He knew everything that was going on in the school at any given time.”

Gibson worked for Forsyth County schools for more than 30 years. He was also the principal at South Fork and Northwest. During World War II, he flew fighter planes off carriers in the Pacific Ocean.

Joining Gibson at North today was his wife, Nancy Turner Gibson, who is also a retired principal, and his daughter, Pat Addison. Opal Allen, who was the school secretary when the school opened, was there, too. She is now 95 and came with her daughter Penny Rowe.

“He was just a wonderful person to work for,” Allen said. “He ran a good school, had good teachers and I enjoyed every day I worked there.”

Sheila Callahan, who graduated in 1967, appreciated the personal attention that Gibson gave students. “He knew all of his students personally by name,” she said.

And, if you need to talk to him about something, his door was always open. “You never had to worry about seeing him.”  

Gene Bowles, a physical-education and coach who is retiring at the end of this year after 25 years at North, is a 1969 graduate of North. “He was a unique individual and he cared about every student,” Bowles said. “He had the respect of the community and the parents. This was his school.”
 

https://journalnow.com/obituaries/gibson-julian/article_fe1d4020-99bc-53d9-8c3f-a0d62f9db9a6.html