David Roderick (“Rod”) Gibb

David Roderick (“Rod”) Gibb

January 8, 1943 – February 3, 2023

David Roderick Gibb was born on January 8, 1943, in Lincoln, NE, to Robert B. Gibb and Mary C. (Kirkpatrick) Gibb. He went by his middle name, shortened to Rod. Rod grew up in Lincoln.

Singing was Rod’s favorite thing to do, and he had a remarkable voice. From the time he was about 8 years old, Mary Gibb brought her son to various community groups to sing for them. He sang with the Lincoln Boys Choir as a boy soprano from 1955 to 1961. He sang with various musical groups at Lincoln High School, which Rod attended until he graduated in 1960.

After high school, Rod attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he majored in music and architecture. He earned his BA in Architecture in 1970 and became a registered architect in 1974. Meanwhile, Rod made extra money by singing for various churches in Lincoln and in Omaha, NE. At one of these churches, All Saints Episcopal Church, Rod met Eunice Curd in the church choir.

Rod and Eunice Gibb were married in 1971 in Lincoln. They lived in Pierre, SD for a few months, then settled in Omaha. They had two daughters. In 1976, with his high tenor voice, Rod sang the lead in The Mikado operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan. Also, in the mid-1970s, Rod and Eunice became founding members of Trinity Interdenominational Church (now Lifegate Church West Dodge Campus). Rod directed that church’s choir in the 1980s. He also designed the first and second phases of that church’s building and saw them completed. Later, Rod and Eunice became founding members of Emmanuel Fellowship Church in Omaha.

As an architect, Rod worked for prestigious architectural firms in Omaha, including Dana Larson Roubal and Associates (now DLR Group), Leo A. Daly, Holland Basham Architects Omaha, and RDG Planning and Design. He was a Project Manager who oversaw the design and construction of many projects both locally and as far away as Japan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Rod retired from architecture in 2011.

Rod never retired from singing. Throughout his adult life, he volunteered as a choir tenor and as a soloist. He also sang with several church choirs and with community choirs such as the Voices of Omaha and the Omaha Symphonic Chorus. His last public performance was the tenor solos in Handel’s Messiah in December 2018 at the age of 75. Rod practiced singing every day for 70 years until his death on February 3, 2023, in Omaha.

Rod was preceded in death by his parents, Robert B. and Mary C. Gibb, his twin brother, Frank Roland Gibb, and his sister-in-law Sue (Erie) Gibb.  He is survived by his wife, Eunice (Curd) Gibb, his brother, Cedric S. Gibb, daughters Meredith Hoover (RC) and Alicia Perry (Nate), nephew Ryan S. Gibb, and two grandchildren.

MEMORIAL SERVICES will be held at Emmanuel Fellowship Church, 8345 Crown Point Avenue, Omaha, NE 68134.  VISITATION: 5-7 PM Friday at church, February 17^th.  SERVICE: 11 AM Saturday, February 18 th at church.  A luncheon will follow the service.

Roeder Mortuary, Inc. - 108th Street Chapel

2727 N 108th St - Omaha, NE - 402-496-9000

www.RoederMortuary.com