Donna Goodwin Gibler, loyal Rehoboth Seahawk
Donna Goodwin Gibler, 74, died after a prolonged illness Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at Christiana Care Hospital. She was surrounded by the family that she cherished when she left this earth. Donna was born April 20, 1947, in Lewes, the daughter of Paul and Hilda Goodwin.
Donna attended primary through secondary school in Rehoboth and was a 1965 graduate of Rehoboth High School. She was active in the RHS Alumni Group, The Lady Seahawks, and truly enjoyed the opportunity to reminisce with them about the glory days of Rehoboth High! She graduated from Webber College in Babson Park, Fla., class of 1967. A loyal supporter of Rehoboth education, Donna worked for 33 years at Rehoboth Elementary School. She was devoted to her work, the kids, the staff and the parents. There was hardly a time when Donna didn’t run into someone in the area who “she had in school.” Her legacy of care, love, fun, laughter, the more than occasional practical joke, and the countless lives she has touched with her warmth and humor will be long remembered at RES.
Donna and Joy were proprietors of two bed & breakfasts in Rehoboth Beach: The Kingston Inn for four years, followed by Sand In My Shoes for nine years, provided the foundation for hundreds of memories and many lifetime friendships forged. There was never a stranger who checked in, and if you weren’t friends when you got there, you were certainly friends when you checked out. Donna found her energy in people, in gatherings, in music, and wherever the sun hit the water, or the breeze swayed the palm trees. The glorious times on her boat gave her the nickname of Captain Crunch, and when she wasn’t on the water, her toes were planted firmly in the sand. The sand and sea were supported by football in the Rehoboth winters, and the Philadelphia Eagles have lost possibly their biggest fan.
Donna is survived by her cherished Joy; her devoted and loving son, John Gibler; her sister, Jill Mitchell and husband Perry; her nephews: Grant and Tyler Murray; her niece, Elise Murray; her great-nieces: Kristen Murray and Taylor Murray; countless adopted dogs, cats, and turtles; and a host of friends who cannot imagine the world without her.
Memorial services and events are being planned and information will be distributed as soon as it is available. Arrangements have been entrusted to Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes.
In lieu of flowers, Donna requested donations to Rehoboth Elementary School Library, 500 Stockley St., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971, or the SPCA, 22918 Dupont Blvd., Georgetown, DE 19947. In addition, her family welcomes donations to Amyloidosis Foundation, 7151 N. Main St., Ste. 2, Clarkston, MI 48346, and Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 12650 Riverside Drive, Ste. 206, North Hollywood, CA 91607, as an expression of sympathy instead of flowers.
Please visit Donna’s Life Memorial Webpage and sign her virtual guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com.
