Obituary

Matthew Sean Gibbons, 68, died of Lewy body dementia on Friday, January 14, at Whatcom Hospice House. The son of Edward and Joan (Bates) Gibbons, he was a native of New York. He grew up in Southern California, where he lived most of his life; he moved to Bellingham in 2001.

Since 2005 Matt had worked as a CAD designer in the engineering department at Alpha Technologies, retiring in 2016. Prior to that he worked for several years at Wood Stone.

Most of his career was spent in and around San Diego, where he grew up. He began as a drafter on paper with pencil; as computers moved into the workplace, he received CAD training and ultimately became proficient in many different software programs, working temporary and contract jobs for a variety of companies. He received one patent, for a quick assembly catheter manifold, but his most successful design was for a blue pump mounted on a stand beside the bed in hospitals; often while watching TV, he would shout, “There’s my pump!”

In his youth Matt showed a talent for drawing, and that may be what led him into drafting. He also was a big fan of NASA and the space program and did many drawings on that theme. As a young man, his interest shifted to guitars and music and he attended many concerts and developed an encyclopedic knowledge of rock and roll bands. He also got into tape recording and surreptitiously recorded many of the concerts, becoming part of the underground “bootleg” concert scene.

He also was an avid photographer and videographer, and in his later years he combined these talents with his recording abilities, volunteering to record and photograph Djangofest Northwest gypsy jazz concerts for the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts.

Many of his various concert photographs have been used on websites and in articles or TV programs about the performers, and his photos of the local area have been included in the WECU calendar several times.

Matt married late in life and is survived by his wife, Dixie Cheek. He leaves a sister, Patty, and her husband, Dan Sweaney, of Bow. Their daughter is Jessica LaBelle, Bellingham; her children are Kieran and Lily. He is also survived by his brother Rich and wife Michele. Their children are Travis Gibbons, of California; Tessa Gibbons, and her son Ermias Ryder, of California; and Lorraine Thompson, of Washington. Michele’s daughter Amy Kivirahk and her daughter Lois live in Steilacoom. Matt fondly remembered his brothers Eddie and Paul, who died many years ago.

No funeral or memorial services are planned at this time.