Gerald “Jerry” Emanuel Hibbs, Jr., 71, of Port Saint Lucie, FL, was called to Heaven on March 15, 2021. He was born in Miami, FL on August 9, 1949 to Gerald Emanuel Hibbs, Sr. and Barbara June Hibbs, who preceded him in death.
Jerry had been a resident of Port Saint Lucie for 10 years, coming from various cities in all of Florida. He graduated from Miami Central High School in June of 1968. He then enlisted in the United States Army on August 16, 1968, where he served in Phan Rang, Vietnam as part of the 18th Engineer Brigade and was a wheeled vehicle mechanic. Jerry was very proud of his service to his country, even though he did suffer PTSD and many other ramifications of Agent Orange exposure.
After his military service, Jerry went to work for Southern Bell, FPL, and for Broward County, where he helped to build the original walking path at Secret Woods Nature Center. He also worked for Home Depot and Cypress Gardens after he retired from Southern Bell.
In his early life, Jerry enjoyed fishing, hunting, and camping with friends and family. He loved to be outdoors and would share his knowledge of it with whoever was curious. His siblings could describe their childhood years as a new adventure every day. They’d play outdoors from dawn until dusk, and would often bring home dinner from whatever the family had caught that day. As a father and grandfather, he was always beaming with pride and ready with words of encouragement to get one through difficult times. He never met an enemy and would give you the shirt off of his back (if he was wearing one), in the middle of winter…which is generous for someone who lives in Florida and probably only owns one jacket. He was kind, patient, generous, loving, and welcoming, and every friend that his children brought home would soon claim them as their “dad” too.
Jerry loved to work on cars, enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren, and most of all, he cherished and adored every dog that he owned, and they always knew that they had him wrapped around their furry little paws.
He is survived by his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, and animals.
He is missed immensely.