Lena Gibbons felt she had been cheated out of a promotion in the military in World War II and said she would work for the promotion “until my last breath.”
But Gibbons died Nov. 19 at 103 without the promotion – she was never elevated beyond the rank of private – and without a U.S. House of Representatives commendation that she was told she would get.
“I’ll pick it (the fight) up,” said her daughter, Marianne Clements of Denver.
A vigil is planned at 5 p.m. today at Caldwell-Kirk Mortuary, 2101 Marion St. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Church of the Risen Christ, 3060 S. Monaco Parkway.
Gibbons and her family believed the promotion was denied because she was African-American.
She served from 1944 until 1946 as a psychiatric social worker and said in an interview in 2005 that blacks in the military were segregated “but we did our jobs. It was a racial thing. It was terrible.”
In 2005, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver proposed a House resolution to recognize Gibbons, but it was never passed, Clements said.
“Lena had a strong sense of justice as she fought for equal veterans’ benefits,” DeGette said Friday. “In advocating for her rights, she always had a smile and a light touch. She will be missed by many.”
Gibbons told a reporter in 2005 that during basic training, blacks lived in unheated “converted horse stables.” She also believed another reason she never got promoted was because she worked in psychiatry. She said in that interview she wanted it known that “psychiatry is just as important in the military as it is in civilian life.”
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall of Eldorado Springs issued a statement saying that Gibbons was an “outstanding servicewoman who served her country with honor, dignity and courage.”
Gibbons was best known locally for her nonstop political activities working for candidates.
“She was a ball of energy and very, very committed,” Clements said.
Longtime friend James Gavin of Denver said he drove Gibbons to vote in the midterm elections this month.
“She was dynamite,” said Peggy Wortham, who was an aide to former Mayor Wellington Webb.
She worked tirelessly for Democrats – going door-to-door with mailings and giving money, Wortham said. And she never held her tongue when she talked to politicians.
Webb said Gibbons was “very nice” when she criticized him, sometimes remarking, “I think you can do a little better,” he said.
Gloria Tanner, former state senator and representative, said Gibbons was very athletic, so if the money-raiser involved “swimming or bowling or whatever, she was there.”
Lena L. Jones was born in Philadelphia on Oct. 22, 1907, and earned a bachelor’s degree in social work at New York University before joining the military. After the war, she earned a master’s degree at NYU.
She married Wayne Lawson in 1932. He died in 1976, and she later married Earnest Gibbons.
She taught children with disabilities in New York and was one of the founders of the Head Start program in Harlem, her daughter said.
Earnest and Lena Gibbons moved to Colorado in 1981. Earnest Gibbons died 14 years ago.
In addition to her daughter, Gibbons is survived by two grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
