Julia A. Gibbs

Our loving mother and spiritual sister Julia Gibbs passed away on August 29th. Judy, as her close friends knew her, was born at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on October 8, 1943 to Hadley and Sally Flint. She was the youngest of six children, all of whom preceded her in death. She is survived by her Daughter Nora, Son Todd and his wife Amy, two grandchildren Kevin and Simon, and two great grandchildren Nattilynn and Noah.
Judy attended Washington High School, graduating with honors in 1961.
At an early age, Judy began searching to find the truth about God from the Bible. While attending a relative’s funeral, the preacher stated that God had called him home. Because his death was the result of a jack slipping and the car crushing him, she could not reconcile the fact that a loving god would “call someone home” in that way. This kindled in her a desire to find the truth about God and resulted in her attending many different churches.
In 1965, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked on her door. Judy was skeptical at first, only allowing the Bible to be used in their discussions and refusing to accept any books. Eventually, after studying the Bible for two years, she was baptized on August 9, 1968 along with her dear friend Odessa Skenandore at Bush Stadium in Indianapolis. At that convention, the Truth Book was released. She quipped, “I studied for two years, and I could have done it in six months”.
Judy worked hard to raise her children to love Jehovah and serve him faithfully. She often read to them before they went to bed from the Great Teacher Book when they were young. This Bible based publication focused on how Jesus treated people and how young ones could imitate him. She also set a fine example of showing kindness and patience.
In 1979 she was able to serve as an Auxiliary Pioneer for the first time, volunteering to spend at least 60 hours in the ministry during a single month. On her first day, she slipped getting into the car resulting in a black eye. She often joked that since the offer for the month was the Family Happiness book, she would tell those she met at the door, “Don’t let this happen to you, read this book”.
When her own mother became ill and needed assistance, she and her sister Donna Barnett took care of her in their homes with Judy assisting her until her death in 1983.
Judy moved from the southside of Indianapolis to Mooresville in 1993 to help care for her ailing brother-in-law Don Barnett. After his death, she and her sister Donna continued to live together. The two enjoyed traveling and could be seen enjoying meals together at local restaurants. They supported each other during the challenges and difficulties they faced as they grew older.
As a member of the Mooresville congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Judy had an active ministry until her death, including five years in the full-time ministry beginning in 2009. The kind and loving care that was given to her by the congregation shows the truthfulness of Proverbs 18:24 “…there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”.
Judy was kind and hospitable, sharing her Bible based hope with everyone who would listen. Judy’s smile and good sense of humor endeared her to many, including the staff of Meadow Lakes, where she resided for the last few years of her life after she suffered a stroke. In her last weeks, Judy encouraged several of those she had known and worked with for years to study the bible.
Though she will be deeply missed, we have the same confidence as she did in the promise at John 5:28,29, “…the hour is coming when all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out…”