Lonnie Gibbons

Lonnie Gibbons, of North Little Rock, went to heaven on April 14th, after a 15 year courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Joyce Gibbons. He has three children, Lonette Godwin and her husband, Ross, of Alpharetta, Georgia; Charlotte Strickland, and her husband, Mark, of Conway; and Lonnie C. Gibbons, and his wife, Mindy, of North Little Rock. He has two sisters, Ann Miller and Lany Kelly. There are seven grandchildren, and a great-grandchild is due in August. Lonnie was preceded in death by his parents, Lonnie E. and Louise Gibbons, and brothers, Troy and Lawrence. Raised in Mississippi and Missouri, he started working at age 12 as a Western Union carrier and then manager. He won a speech contest through the radio station KBOA, at the age of 15, and was given his first job as a radio announcer with "Platter Party". He attended college at ASU, where he also worked at the radio station, and later WJXN radio station in Jackson, Mississippi. In Alexandria, Louisiana, he worked in radio and began his career in television, by hosting a children's show called "Montana Slim", and working with news and weather. He came to Little Rock in 1958, working at KARK, with the weather and "Dialing for Dollars". Lonnie worked at KTAR in Phoenix from 1975-1977. He then moved back to Arkansas, the state he loved, in 1977, to work again with KARK. Later that same year, he was offered a position at KTHV, where he did weather, sports and worked in sales. Some commercials he is still remembered for include the Horne's men clothing store, and Kaufman Lumber. He retired from KTHV in 1996, when he first was diagnosed with cancer. Lonnie started a cancer support group at Park Hill Baptist Church and helped other churches start groups as well. He was very proud of this and loved and cared for his friends with cancer. He was known for giving out boxing glove key rings, scripted with "God Is In Our Corner," as well as his Boxer statues. Lonnie is known best as "Pawpaw". The highlight of his days were spending time with the grandkids, playing UNO, shooting pistols, and talking and texting with family. He also enjoyed traveling across America with Joyce. His legacy will live on. A special thanks goes to Dr. Joseph Beck and staff for their dedicated care and friendship all these years, as Lonnie fought the fight. In Lonnie's honor, memorials may be made to the Park Hill Baptist Cancer Support group, 201 E. "C" Street, North Little Rock, Arkansas 72116. The family will receive friends from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Sunday, April 17, 2011 at North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main St., 758-1170. A celebration service will be held 1 p.m., Monday, April 18, 2011 at Park Hill Baptist Church. Online obituary and guest registry at www.nlrfh.com.