FERGUS – He wasn’t quite the founding father of Fergus, but Jim Gibbons has a long history in the town and played a vital role in its growth and prosperity.
His death, on Feb 15 at a Hamilton hospital, leaves a wake of sadness, but also a sense of pride and privilege for those who knew him.
Gibbons was born in Iroquois, Ontario in 1931, grew up on the family farm and then worked as a ship hand while putting himself through Queen’s University.
He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering and met and married his first wife Sheila in Sudbury. They had six children together.
After Sheila died, he married Mary, who came with four kids of her own, and they have been together for 31 years, creating “the greatest family since The Brady Bunch,” according to his obituary.
After graduation, Gibbons worked for Imperial Oil for 17 years and came to Fergus after joining Canadian Tire, where he was the dealer in Fergus for 24 years.
Concurrently, he served as a Fergus councillor, deputy Reeve, Reeve and as the last mayor of Fergus prior to amalgamation.
After amalgamation, he served as a county councillor.
Former Centre Wellington Mayor Kelly Linton said he got a call from Gibbons not long after Linton was elected mayor in 2014 offering to introduce him to some local businesspeople.
“Any time a former mayor wants to talk about stuff, you take them up on it,” Linton said in a phone interview.
“And Jim impressed me right away.”
Gibbons wanted Linton to think about the business environment and how important it is to have jobs in town along with residential growth.
He pressed Linton to think about developing a business park, which had long been his dream.
“He was preaching to the choir,” Linton said, noting his own election platform was all about jobs and investment in infrastructure.
Linton invited Gibbons to join his economic development task force, where the first priority was building a business park.
“He brought history and context to the team,” Linton said. “And he always wanted to do the right thing.
“He didn’t lead by speeches; he led by doing. And he just kept doing, right up to the end.”
The township broke ground on the business park on Dickson Drive in 2022 and celebrated its first land sale to Hammond Manufacturing in 2024.
Gibbons was at both events and told the Advertiser about the challenges of convincing people way back in the 1970s and ‘80s that purchasing land for a business park was the best course to take.
“People thought economic development would happen by private enterprise, but instead property was bought up for housing,” he said in 2022.
Gibbons was also a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Fergus Elora and received the Paul Harris Fellow three times.
He was heavily involved in fundraising for the original Groves Memorial Community Hospital, as well as the new one.
He also helped fundraise for the Aboyne Rural Hospice facility and the Grove Youth Hub, and he chaired the Rotary Club’s Catch the Ace committee when it was revived after COVID-19 lockdowns.
Neil Dunsmore met Gibbons through Rotary and was aways impressed with his dedication and involvement with club activities.
Gibbons received the Citizen of the Year award from the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce in 2023 for his wealth of community and political work.
“I nominated him,” Dunsmore said. “I was shocked he had never won it before.”
It wasn’t hard to collect letters supporting his nomination, Dunsmore added.
“He was such a great guy. I struggle explaining how much he meant to me,” he said.
Dunsmore added the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex in Fergus to the long list of buildings and organizations Gibbons had a hand in developing.
“Drive around Fergus and you realize you are affected by him too, although you might not know it,” Dunsmore said.
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott called Gibbons a community builder and a community booster.
And as a politician, “he focused on spending the taxpayers’ dollars frugally and wisely … there was no wasted money under his stewardship,” Arnott stated in an email.
Son Chris Gibbons acknowledged those community contributions, but to him, his dad was all about fostering friendships and lasting relationships.
“My dad had a lot of really good friends,” Chris said. “When we were growing up, we were always surrounded by ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ and thought of their kids as our ‘cousins.’
“He attracted really good people.”
Chris added the family spent vacations on a houseboat and at a ski chalet, but they all also worked at the Canadian Tire store, where his dad started a tuition assistance program for student hires who returned year after year.
“We put down roots here and dad was a cornerstone of the community,” he said.
“He wanted the people of Centre Wellington to thrive and he was always focused on building a better future.
“That’s what he did in politics, that’s what he did in Rotary – that is his legacy.”
In his final weeks, Gibbons received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for community service from the Canadian government.
“Jim was a force to be reckoned with, both in the council chamber and within our community,” current Mayor Shawn Watters stated in a press release.
“His legacy will live on in the many projects he helped create and the lives he touched.
“Jim always led by example, empowering others to take on leadership roles, and his passion for this community was unmatched.”
In honour of Jim Gibbons’ contributions to the community, the township flew its flags at half-staff.
A celebration of life event will be held in the spring.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to Groves Memorial Community Hospital or the Aboyne Rural Hospice.
