Duane Edwin Gibson Obituary (1944 - 2022)

Duane Edwin Gibson, of Mission, Texas, went to be with our Lord on Sunday, October 23, 2022. Duane is survived by his wife, Marilyn; their children: AJ and his wife, Ruth, and Kela and her husband, Matthew; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and his sister, Muriel Zimmerman of Plattsburg, Missouri. Duane was born and raised on a farm in Keota, Iowa. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1967 with a B.S. in Animal Science. After graduation he spent a summer working with the Navigators at Eagle Lake Camp in Colorado. He then planned to go to Africa to work with an orphanage, but his plans changed in 1968 when he came to the Rio Grande Valley through a church outreach program to build relief homes after Hurricane Beulah. While in South Texas he felt God’s call to stay and minister to the people of the Valley and Mexico. In 1970 he enrolled in the Rio Grande Bible Institute to learn Spanish and there he met Marilyn Jean Dieckman. Duane and Marilyn married in 1971 and together have faithfully served the Lord as missionaries for 50 years. In 1974 they served in Chihuahua City, Mexico, helping reach the people on the outskirts of the city. During that time, they helped start a church in a boxcar. That church continues to thrive today in its own building downtown. In 1975, Duane started a Bible correspondence ministry that has served thousands of students throughout Latin America and the U.S. Another significant part of Duane’s ministry has been literature distribution. Over the years millions of tracts and Bibles have been distributed to Spanish-speaking churches. This has included annually distributing over 80,000 VBS units to over 500 churches and missions. Other ministries over the years have included teaching in local churches, mentoring pastors in northern Mexico, and ministering monthly to undocumented inmates at the Federal Detention Center in Bayview. Duane served the Lord faithfully and now his faith has become sight. A memorial service for Duane is scheduled for 11 AM, Saturday, October 29th at Ric Brown Funeral Home at 621 E. Griffin Pkwy in Mission. There will be a viewing on Friday from 4 to 6 PM. All are welcome. The family will have a private burial on Saturday before the service. The service will be livestreamed at https://youtu.be/ePw85I686b4. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: MESSAGE OF LIFE, 58607 Rd 601, Ahwahnee, CA, 93601. Condolences can be sent to P.O. Box 1397, Mission, TX, 78573.