Stanley Kibbey

Stan Kibbey, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, cousin and uncle passed away on April 27, 2019, in Oriental, NC after a brief illness. Stan was born on November 2, 1939, in Muskegon, MI, to Norman and Alice (Grumm) Kibbey. He was a graduate of Muskegon High School, where he played varsity football, and later attended Michigan State University. He spent much of his professional career selling industrial supplies and equipment, initially in Muskegon and then Kalamazoo, MI. In 1983 he moved to Statesville, NC with his family to continue his career. Stan and his wife Esther (Nagy) raised their three boys in Statesville and lived there until retiring in 2006. Stan and Esther then moved to Oriental, NC where they lived on a boat for nearly a year while they supervised the building of their retirement home. In retirement Stan enjoyed fishing on the nearby creeks of the Intercoastal Waterway, relaxing by his pool and the comradery of his friends from both the neighborhood and his church. Stan was an avid sailor, racing International 210 sailboats on Lake Michigan and Gull Lake, MI. He also enjoyed chartering larger boats for family trips in the Great Lakes. Stan enjoyed spending time with his family on vacations and at home where he could often be found in the kitchen using his culinary creativity and master grilling skills to bring his family together for amazing meals. Stan also helped build and test the first prototypes of what would eventually become known as the snow surfer or "snurfer" with his good friend, Sherm Poppen. His garage contained various prototypes of the Snurfer and Stan enjoyed telling tales of riding these prototypes on the snow-covered dunes on the shores of Lake Michigan. The Snurfer was the pre-cursor to the modern-day snowboard. Stan is survived by his loving wife of over forty-four years, Esther, his sister Norma Jean Tillema (Les), sons Aaron (Karin), Trevor, and Justin (Kerri) Kibbey, his daughters Lori Marchido (Tom), Kristy, his grandchildren Gillian, Liah, Zane and Kennedy Kibbey; Joshua, Jeremy, Morgan, Taylor and Bailey Marchido, several great-grandchildren, his nieces Debbie, Stacy and Kim, and nephews Kenny and Kreg. He was predeceased by his parents, his brother Kenneth and his sister Barbara as well as many loving aunts and uncles. On Saturday, June 29, 2019 his family and friends held a memorial service at Stan and Esther's church in Oriental, NC to celebrate his life, share some laughs and fond memories and scatter his ashes at his favorite fishing hole in Dawson's Creek. Stan is dearly missed by his loving family, but we take comfort in knowing that he is reunited in heaven with his parents, siblings, aunts and uncles and some very dear friends. God bless his soul. Bryant Funeral Home