Obituary of Gary Ray Tibbetts

Mr. Gary Ray Tibbetts, a resident of Ozark died Saturday, September 9, 2023, in Apalachicola, Florida, from injuries sustained in a boating accident. He was 64 years old. Funeral services for Gary will be 11:00 A.M. Friday, September 15, 2023, in the Ozark Civic Center with Reverend Tom Skeen officiating. Interment will follow in Westview Memorial Cemetery, Holman Funeral Home of Ozark directing. The family will receive friends in the Ozark Civic Center Thursday evening from 5:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. Serving as pallbearers will be John Chisholm, Randy Epperson, Fletcher Dawson, Jay Jackson, Stan Vickers, Donnie Minton, Todd Riley and Don Halford. Honorary pallbearers will be Billy Parsons and Eddie Hardwick. Mr. Tibbetts was born March 9, 1959 in Chipley, Florida to Robert E. Tibbetts and the late Beatrice Tibbetts. Gary graduated from Carroll High School in 1977 and received a basketball scholarship to the University of North Alabama where he received his Bachelor’s Degree. He worked with Pea River Electric for 38 years and retired in 2021. Gary lived his life to the fullest. He loved everything about the water, especially riding and racing boats. He loved his family and friends. Gary never met a stranger. He was preceded in death by his mother, Beatrice Newsome Tibbetts; one brother, Robert Samuel Tibbetts; and one half sister, Janice Smith. Survivors include his father, Robert E. Tibbetts; one daughter, Sophie Martin-Tibbetts; one son, Robert Troy Tibbetts (Kaile); one grandson, Gunner Tibbetts; one sister, Debbie Riley (Mike); and one half sister, Linda Temple. Several nieces and nephews also survive.