A00423 - Leon Buster Gibbs, Amherst College Class of 1963, Middletown High School (Middetown, Connecticut), Columbia University MBA and MIA, Initiator of Asa J. Davis - Leon B. Gibbs Scholarship Fund

 The next name on the Memorial List after Benjamin Elisha Boyce, Amherst College Class of 1963, is Leon Buster Gibbs, Amherst College Class of 1963.  Leon Buster Gibbs is one of the most distinguished Black Alumni.  There are a plethora of tributes to him.  There is his obituary 

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Published in the:

The Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home
Fairfax, VA
July 30, 2020

Leon Buster Gibbs, Sr., husband of Dorris V. Gibbs from Scranton, Pennsylvania, was born to the late Hazel Gibbs Green and Buster Gibbs in Pamplico, S.C. on July 23, 1940. He passed on July 23rd at Fairfax Hospital, after a short illness. He grew up in Middletown, Connecticut, where he graduated from Middletown High School as a class officer and honor student. Leon graduated Amherst College in 1963, and Columbia University Graduate School, earning dual degrees, Master of International Affairs and Master of Business Administration in 1965. While at Amherst, he played guitar with his band at fraternity parties, etc., which helped to pay his tuition of $1,500.

Leon was a long-term employee of Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Co. in New Brunswick, NJ., in the International Division. He traveled to more than 80 countries, and was the 1st African-American General Manager/J&J Puerto Rico. Later, he served as President of Central America J&J, while living in Panama City, Panama, where his wife had a wonderful life of touring and shopping.

They moved to Georgetown, when he joined the Foreign Service in order to serve as the Assistant to the Ambassador in Kingston Jamaica. President Reagan chose him for the Committee for Executive Exchange, in the Caribbean Basin Initiative Program, while working at the American Embassy, while on hiatus from J&J. Leon retired from J&J, to become a franchisee of MotoPhoto in the Turnpike Shopping Center, Fairfax, Va. for many years. His daily quote at the dinner table was "What did you do today, to move our lives ahead?"

Leon was an avid golfer, who traveled to professional tournaments with his wife; his hobby was following Tiger Woods in his prime. His greatest joy was playing golf three times a week with several Senior Clubs at Twin Lakes. Finally, after 40 years of playing he got "a hole in one" at Twin Lakes Golf Course. Of course, we have the framed photo.

His greatest legacy was the creation of the Asa J. Davis Gibbs Scholarship Fund, along with fellow classmates Hugh Price and Bill Davis, to help minority students to attend Amherst for four years tuition free. He was a lover of all kinds of music, especially jazz, blues and Doo Wop.

His greatest pride was his family. He is survived by his loving wife, Dorris Veneda Gibbs, son Leon B. Gibbs, Jr., daughter-in-law Tonya Therese Gibbs, grandchildren: Joy Destiny Gibbs and Zion Leon Gibbs. He leaves behind aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, and a host of friends. 

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and there are the tributes from his classmates Bill Davis and Hugh Price

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 d. July 23, 2020

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Leon B. Gibbs Sr. passed on July 23, 2020, at Fairfax Hospital, Virginia, after a short illness. He grew up in Middletown, Conn., a few blocks from Wesleyan University, and as a high ranking student, he was offered admission to Wesleyan. His high school dean, who knew Amherst Admission Dean Eugene Wilson, suggested that he visit our College, whereupon Leon decided to accept Admission Dean Wilson’s offer, to join the Amherst freshman class of more than 250 students.  

Leon was a dedicated, hard-working student who majored in psychology while at Amherst. By the time he graduated, two of the original five African-Americans in his class had transferred to other institutions, leaving Gibbs, Bill Davis ’63 and Hugh Price ’63, as the only three African-Americans in the class of 1963. Far from feeling out of place, however, Gibbs thrived throughout his four years at Amherst. He was active in the Lord Jeff Society and was the leader of a band which played live music throughout the Five-College area. 

Business and Professional Accomplishments:

After graduating from Columbia University in 1965 with his MBA and master’s in international affairs, Leon accomplished the following:

• Worked for four major pharmaceutical companies in consumer product advertising, product management and international consulting.
• Accepted a permanent position at Johnson & Johnson, which had operations in 68 countries; assumed management of J&J’s operations in Puerto Rico and Panama.
• At the request of J&J’s company chairman, took a leave of absence to work on former President Ronald Reagan’s 1984 Commission on Executive Exchange. 

Leon was an avid golfer, who traveled to professional tournaments with his wife; his hobby was following Tiger Woods in his prime. His greatest joy was playing golf three times a week with several senior clubs; finally, after 40 years of playing, he got “a hole in one” at Twin Lakes Golf Course. The family, of course, has the framed photo.
Leon is survived by his loving wife, Dorris Veneda Gibbs; son Leon B. Gibbs Jr.; daughter-in-law Tonya Therese Gibbs; and two grandchildren. 

Giving Back to Amherst

For years, Gibbs had considered ways to give back to Amherst as a “thank you” for the enormous impact the school had on his life. He reached out to his two African-American classmates Hugh Price ’63 and Bill Davis ’63, and the three made a decision to set up a scholarship fund for students of color, with a goal of $1 million. The dollar goal of the Asa J. Davis-Leon B. Gibbs Scholarship Fund was met September 2020, thanks to gifts from Gibbs and his classmates in the class of 1963.

William A. “Bill” Davis Jr. ’63

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TRIBUTE TO LEON GIBBS
Hugh Price and Bill Davis
August 1, 2020

In 2014 Leon Gibbs conceived of the idea of creating a scholarship at Amherst in honor of Asa J. Davis, the esteemed professor of history and black studies who was instrumental in launching the Black Studies Department and then served as its first chair.  The Asa J. Davis, Leon B. Gibbs ’63 Scholarship Fund was also created in honor of the 55^th reunion of the Class of 1963.  Leon enlisted Bill Davis and Hugh Price, his fellow African American members of that class, as co-sponsors of the Fund.  

Formally established in 2017, the AJD Scholarship Fund is a permanently endowed fund.  Its income is used to provide financial aid to students with demonstrated need, with a preference for students of color in their junior or senior years and who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and as determined by the Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, who administers the Fund in accordance with financial aid policies and procedures set by the Board of Trustees. Senior year students who express a desire to attend graduate schools of business administration, international public affairs and who wish to pursue graduate studies in international business/political science will be given additional preference for the Asa J. Davis Scholarship.  The first AJD Scholarship was awarded in 2018-19.

Sadly, Leon passed away on July 23^rd, which was his 80^th birthday.  As a lasting tribute to our beloved classmate and with the enthusiastic approval of Dorris Gibbs, his widow, Hugh and Bill have officially renamed it the Asa J. Davis and Leon B. Gibbs Scholarship Fund.  Henceforth the scholarship will be known as the Asa J. Davis and Leon B. Gibbs Scholarship.

Inspired by Leon’s vision and generous personal support, we are more than halfway toward his goal of raising $1 million by our 60^th reunion three years from now.  Let’s all keep pulling hard on the oars and get it done by 2023 or, better yet, before.       

We also encourage you to read the obituary contained on these In Memory pages.  It provides a glimpse of the remarkable life he led, including the fact that he was a pioneer in international business long before African Americans regularly held positions of consequence and influence in the corporate world.  

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but perhaps my favorite In Memory piece was authored by Leon himself for his 50th Reunion Yearbook

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It is hard to believe that 50 years have gone by so quickly. But we are blessed to be here today cele brating our mutual anniversary of graduating back in 1963 from our dear Amherst College. As I look back upon my Amherst experience and what it means and has meant to me in my life, I can recall many events of significance. I still recall with great compassion an experience I had with Dean Esty dur ing my sophomore year. As many of you recall, I was a musician, playing guitar and leading small rock and or jazz bands during my four years at Amherst. Actually although on schol arship, the revenues from those gigs in the various frats and sororities around the Four-College area helped me work my way through school. As leader, I needed a car, which was not allowed for students on scholarship. However, at the end of my sopho more year I went to see Dean Esty to plead my case for an auto, sorely needed to transport the band equip ment as well as fellow band members from gig to gig. After nervously await ing his response, I was overjoyed when he not only commented favor ably on my improved grades, but whipped out a $100 bill which he handed to me, along with the prom ise of writing a letter authorizing my use of a car on campus. I think that one event, as insignificant as it seems now, was the critical turning point in my success at Amherst. Not only had I as a 19-year-old never, ever laid eyes “During the mid-80’s I participated in the Reagan Administration’s Caribbean Basin Initiative Program.” on a $100 bill, but the approval to own a car and his enthusiastic support of my improving grades gave me more than enough energy to attack my studies with enthusiasm for the balance of my years in school. Reflecting back over the years, I can definitely say that my Amherst experiences, particularly the ones that helped develop my writing and analytical skills, proved most valuable in my life as I later entered Columbia Business School as well as the corporate world thereafter. I spent basically the majority of my working life building a career in the healthcare field, working at various Big Pharma firms, finally retiring from Johnson & Johnson International as General Manager of affiliates in Puerto Rico and Central America, where we lived for seven years. During the mid-80’s I took a sab batical from the corporate life and participated in the Reagan Adminis tration’s Caribbean Basin Initiative Program, promoting trade and com merce principally with the new Seaga Administration in Jamaica, where we lived and worked for a year. I later met President Reagan during an awards citation at the White House, which was a thrill as he cited my work in his opening remarks. Now that I have reached the “golden years,” along with all of you, I look back on what has been a good life, thanks in part to a combination of a terrific education at Amherst, a loving and supportive wife, Dorris, who has been with me for over 48 years, a great son, Leon Jr., and two terrific grandchildren. Dorris and I look forward to see ing most of you at our Great Class of 1963’s 50th Reunion. Leon and Dorris Gibb

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Leon Gibbs, a good man, and a Great Black Alumni.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

Class of 1975

August 12, 2025