Thelma Gibson at the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Miami-Dade at the Biltmore Hotel on Thursday, January 23, 2014.
Al Diaz
Miami Herald Staff
Funeral arrangements for Coconut Grove advocate and pioneering Black nurse Thelma Gibson have been announced. Gibson died Feb. 11 at age 99.
Read more: Thelma Gibson, advocate for health, housing and Black history, dies at 99
Gibson’s funeral will be held 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 27 at Christ Episcopal Church in the Little Bahamas neighborhood at 3481 Hibiscus St., her family told the Miami Herald. A viewing will be held Thursday, Feb. 26 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Thelma Gibson impacted many people in numerous ways, and we acknowledge that community members may want to publicly recognize her impact,” her family said in a statement to the Miami Herald. “We fully appreciate how much she meant to so many people, however, she made clear that she wanted a simple service, without any public speakers. Our family’s goal is to respect her wishes exactly as she expressed them. Per her wishes, this is a service of celebration with a focus on a day of love.”
Additional seating in an outdoor tented reception area will also be available at the church. Those unable to attend, can view the service on the church’s YouTube channel or on their Facebook page. A recording of the service will also be available on the church’s YouTube page.
Thelma Gibson, one of Miami’s pioneers in the field of healthcare, died at age 99. One of Jackson Hospital’s first Black nurses, Gibson pushed for equal treatment among her Black patients, referring to them as “Mr.” and “Ms.” while demanding the same respect from her white colleagues. Ms. Gibson was photographed at her Coconut Grove home on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Gibson spent her life advocating for Coconut Grove residents during a time of rapid gentrification and developing nonprofits that advocate for businesswomen and the health and wellness of communities.
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Born Thelma Vernell Anderson on Dec. 17, 1926, Gibson grew up in a segregated Coconut Grove neighborhood, once known as Colored Town. The sixth of 14 children to Sweetlon and Thomas Anderson, Gibson become one of the first Black nurses at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Gibson would go advocate for many causes, like health care, affordable housing and preserving Black history, particularly in the Coconut Grove community, and spearhead efforts for the neighborhood to be called Little Bahamas. She fought for the rights of Black people alongside her husband, late pastor and activist Theodore Gibson, a pioneer of desegregation who led the effort to integrate then-Dade County Public Schools. The two married in 1967 and were together for 15 years before his death in 1982.
Thelma Anderson-Gibson, 1947, as a graduate of St Agnes School of Nursing. Raleigh, N.C. Hand Out Photo Hand Out Photo
In 1983, Gibson created the Theodore Gibson Memorial Fund, which helped open the senior living facility Gibson Plaza Community and Educational Center and created a youth initiative focused on STEM education. Gibson also founded the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Miami-Dade County, a forum to provide businesswomen with the resources and support to succeed. In 2000, she founded the Thelma Gibson Health Initiative, a nonprofit to improve health outcomes and offset the effects of poverty, literacy, and other health and community challenges.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to The Thelma Gibson Health Initiative or Christ Episcopal Church. She will be buried next to her husband at Miami City Cemetery.
Miami Herald
Raisa Habersham is the race and culture reporter for the Miami Herald. She previously covered Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale for the Herald with a focus on housing and affordability. Habersham is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She joined the Herald in 2022.