Remembering those lost to COVID-19: Karla Gibson was a SLO Realtor and a ‘shining star’
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Remembering those lost to COVID-19
The Tribune is working to share the stories of those lost to the coronavirus pandemic in San Luis Obispo County.
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No visitors, no funerals: Families of 3 SLO County COVID-19 victims share their stories
Here are the stories of the SLO County residents who have died from coronavirus
Remembering those lost to COVID-19: Karla Gibson was a SLO Realtor and a ‘shining star’
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Remembering those lost to COVID-19: Margery McGoff was dedicated Atascadero grandmother
Karla Pomeroy Gibson was a star, no doubt about it — “a real feel-good story,” according to her daughter Rayna Bernard.
Born on a 100-acre farm in Magic Valley, Idaho, in 1925, the pretty and stylish Gibson led a life that could easily be described as idyllic.
She and her husband, Greg, met when she went to greet her sister, a Western Airlines flight attendant, at the airport. Instead, Gibson met Greg, and their 52-year romance began.
After their marriage, the Gibsons moved to Los Altos, where they welcomed twin daughters. Over the years, they would move about the Bay Area, then to Chicago, before finally settling down at a home below Bishop Peak in San Luis Obispo in 1976.
Gibson was a “very current” sort of woman, her daughter said.
Gibson taught high school home economics and sex education and was a big supporter of Planned Parenthood. She later moved into real estate, where she was a member of The Million Dollar Club, reserved for Realtors who made million-dollar sales.
Gibson retired at the age of 80.
Her 1976 Elektra Buick convertible — affectionately called “Uby” because of its license plate letters —made more than one appearance in a San Luis Obispo County parade, usually carting the Cayucos Marching Surfers Drill Team.
Gibson was well known for her craft and sewing skills.
Bernard said her mother made senior prom gowns for all of her daughter’s friends, as well as all of Bernard’s clothes growing up. She also made calendars at Christmas, straw brooms in the garden and painted rocks for the Fourth of July — and then gave them out to everyone she knew, Bernard recalled.
Even after Gibson moved into Vista Rosa Assisted Living Facility in San Luis Obispo later in her life, she was a joy among the fellow residents and their members, Bernard said.
Even more than, Gibson spread love to everyone around her.
“She always would end (conversations) with ‘Give yourself a Karla hug,’ ” Bernard said. “She always wanted to make sure that people felt loved. Such a theme to her life: spreading joy and making sure people knew how much they mattered.”
And she did it all with style: Bernard fondly recalled that her mother’s dry-cleaning bills were several hundred dollars each month, even after Gibson went blind and dementia took its toll.
“She loved to dress,” Bernard said. “She was beautifully groomed, and I made sure right to the end she had amazing clothes.”
Gibson died at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo on June 30, from complications related to coronavirus. She was 95 years old — just five years short of the 100 she always told people she planned to reach.
Gibson left behind two daughters, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
“She didn’t invent penicillin, but she made everyone’s lives better,” Bernard said. “She was a shining star.”
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
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