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Gus Gibbs

Men's Basketball Athletic Communications

Gus Gibbs, Stetson Supporter and DeLand Icon, Passes Away

Longtime Stetson fan and supporter Leslie "Gus" Gibbs passed away overnight on Jan. 30. He was 76.
 
In addition to being an ardent Stetson supporter, Gibbs was a pillar of the DeLand community, both as a businessman and a philanthropist.
 
Gibbs gained a measure of fame as a Stetson basketball fan for his spontaneous spelling out of S-T-E-T-S-O-N he would perform at half court during basketball games to
Gus Gibbs
Gus Gibbs (middle), flanked by Glenn Wilkes and
Gary Meadows, at Thursday's Stetson-UNF game in Jacksonville.
help get the home fans -- and the Hatters -- fired up. He and friends attended Stetson's game at North Florida on Thursday night in Jacksonville just prior to his passing.
 
The owner of Gibbs for Men, a downtown clothing store which was a staple for more than 40 years until it closed at the end of 2018, Gibbs was heavily involved in the community. Gibbs was a longtime Rotary Club of DeLand member, a supporter of youth athletics, and a member of the DeLand Planning Board.
 
Gibbs' family moved to DeLand in 1937 and opened a general mercantile store — later a women's clothing store — in the same block where he would later open Gibbs for Men.
 
Gibbs helped bring about the transformation of the city's moribund central business district in the 1980s, turning it into the thriving, award-winning neighborhood Downtown DeLand is today.
 
A memorial service celebrating Gibbs' life will be held 2 p.m., Tuesday at Edmunds Center on the Stetson campus. Lankford Funeral home is handling arrangements.
 
The West Volusia Beacon contributed to this story.
 
 
 
 
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