Evelyn M. Gibbons

Evelyn Gibbons, formerly of Exeter, PA, died peacefully on April 15 at the Meadows Nursing Center, Dallas, where she had been a resident since June 2025. Evelyn was born on October 27, 1940 in Nesbitt Hospital to Victoria Turoski and John Hudyck, both Exeter schoolteachers. Her mother, Victoria, immigrated from Bialystok, Poland, in 1908, and Evelyn took pride in being a first-generation Polish-American.

Evelyn graduated from Exeter High School and Wilkes College with a degree in English literature. After college, she and her classmate Sally moved to New York City, where she lived for a decade. Evelyn attended Columbia University's master's program in English literature and worked at the Pierpont Morgan Library. She then worked for the New York State Employment Service with youth in the South Bronx as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's new War on Poverty program, which drastically cut the poverty rate across the country. She met her husband, Jack, a native of Scranton, in New York City, where their first daughter was later born. They were avid New York Mets & New York Jets fans during some trying years that finally culminated in joy and ticker tape parades for both teams' championships. Evelyn also participated in the earliest women's rights organizing of the 1960s and marched in the first women's March for Equality on Fifth Avenue in 1970.

When she returned to NEPA, she later worked as a librarian and earned her master's degree in library science through a weekend program at SUNY Albany. She worked at the Osterhout Free Library and King's College Library, and in her 70s, she retired from the Albright Memorial Library in Scranton, where she served as reference librarian and head of the reference department.

Evelyn was an avid reader and had a home full of books. She was a subscriber to The New Yorker magazine for 42 years and 4 months. She traveled frequently to many cities, including New York City, Baltimore, to visit her younger daughter; several visits to Ireland, and a memorable trip to her ancestral region in Poland. She was a creative gardener, loved her cats, treasured her ancestral stories, was a well-loved colleague, always observed family and friends' birthdays and milestones, and volunteered for progressive and human rights causes and campaigns. Evelyn was a warm person who treated people with consideration and patience and embodied that in her work at the library. She remained physically active, taking frequent walks into her early 80s, until Alzheimer's made that more difficult. She had regular lunches with her closest former colleagues from the library, who shared a special bond of friendship.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jack, in 2013; beloved cousin Victor Turoski, also an only child, in 2015, with whom she was raised in a close multigenerational family; and her two dear cats. She is survived by her daughter, Kate, of Exeter; her daughter, Bridget, of Baltimore, and her partner, Jonathan; and her nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends. She will be sadly missed by her daughters, for whom she was a role model and a constant warmth in their lives.

The family wishes to thank The Meadows staff and volunteers for all their care and engagement with Evelyn during her time as a resident there; the friends she made among the residents; Dr. Patrick Kilduff; and her dearest home caregivers, who had helped her to stay safe and comfortable in her home for as long as possible.

Evelyn's family celebrates her life privately.

Memorial donations are welcomed to two local causes: Scranton 4 Ukraine at: runsignup.com/race/donate/pa/scranton/scranton4ukraine5k please indicate Evelyn's name in On Behalf Of: Other, or Griffin Pond Animal Shelter at griffinpondanimalshelter.com/memorial 

Share memories and condolences with Evelyn's family at mjmclaughlin.com