Viola L. Kibbe

Viola Kibbe, aged 94, passed away on July 7, 2016 in Grayling, MI. She was born in Washington Township, MI, on October 28, 1921, to Rufus and Anna Geer. Introduced to a handsome and charming fellow named Donald Alva Kibbe by her older brother, they married on Christmas Eve, 1940. A lifelong Free Methodist, Viola dedicated her time to reading, keeping the farm, experiments in interior design, engaging in wild adventures, raising her ten children, and caring for her husband after he became ill. Viola believed in family: in-laws, step-children, and ex-spouses were as much a part of her family as her own blood. After her husband passed in 1989, she continued traveling the country to visit friends and family, barely slowing her pace or her effervescent attitude. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Donald, two brothers, two sisters, her eldest son David, and a grandson Nicholas. She is survived by a sister Dorothy Dome, sister-in-law Verta Giddings, children Joseph and Shirley Kibbe, Donna Davis and Ralph Patrick, William and Janice Kibbe, Bonnie Reinhardt, Susan and Robert Ruth, Alan Kibbe, Mark and Tricia Kibbe, Lori Williams, Karen and James Johnson, and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren that proved too numerous to count. Visitation will be held at Sorenson-Lockwood Funeral Home on Monday, July 11, from 2 - 3 pm for the family, and 3 - 7 pm for the public. Services will be held at the Grayling Free Methodist Church on Tuesday, July 12 at 11 am with burial at Elmwood Cemetery and lunch at the church to follow. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in the name of Donald and Viola Kibbe to a reputable veterans charity. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Viola L. Kibbe, please visit our flower store.