Viola “Polly” Christine Gibson

Funeral services for Viola “Polly” Christine Gibson, 91, were held at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Humboldt Saturday, January 14, 2023.

She passed away peacefully at her home on January 9, 2023, just a few weeks shy of her 92nd birthday.

Polly, a nickname she earned in childhood and the only name most people ever knew her by, was born February 12, 1931 in Gibson County, Tenn., to Jim and Lula McKnight. She married Loye Gibson on September 6, 1947 in Corinth, Miss. and settled in Humboldt. They were married 66 years and had two children, Patricia Darlynn in 1949 and James Terry in 1953.

Mrs. Gibson was a gifted cook who was not satisfied until everyone had full bellies and her southern cuisine was locally renowned. “Polly’s Kitchen” was always open. In addition to frying up some mouth-watering fried chicken and cornbread, she enjoyed crafting, gardening, hunting for deals at “second time around” shops, taking part in the annual Strawberry Festival and doting on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Gibson was a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church. In the 1990s, the couple also spent a few of their retirement years in Hendersonville, Tenn.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Lula McKnight; husband, Loye; son, Terry (“Hoot”); grandson, Donald Charles Williams Jr.; brother, Russell McKnight; and sister, Mattie Rodgers.

She is survived by her daughter, Patricia Walden (John) of Humboldt; two grandchildren, Jamie Hult of Sioux Falls, S.D. and Tanner Gibson of Nashville, Tenn.; four great-grandchildren: Oliver, Gideon and Warner Gibson, and Greta Hult; sister, Sandra Hampton of Huntsville, Ala.; and a host of nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.