Stephen Edmund Gibbs, programs and services coordinator for the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life (ORSL), died on campus Oct. 7. A memorial service will take place Nov. 6 in Herrick Memorial Chapel.
Gibbs’ sister Rachel Thaxton said Gibbs was born in Wandsworth, England, in 1963, and that he spent four years of his childhood in Santiago, Chile, where his parents served as missionaries. According to Thaxton, the family moved to Pasadena in 1984 when Edmund Gibbs, the father, took a position as a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. Stephen Gibbs later worked at Fuller Seminary himself, according to an obituary written by Thaxton. Stephen Gibbs also spent a year in Japan teaching English and leading Bible studies; it was in Japan that he met his wife, Hiromi Yamamoto.
“Steve was my big brother, five years older than me,” Thaxton said. “We also have two younger sisters [Helen and Linda], and he was always very tolerant of us bugging him; he never got annoyed, frustrated or irritated with us.”
Associate Director of Jewish Student Life Ben Greenberg said he first met Gibbs when he was interviewing for a position at Occidental in 2023.
“Steve, just right off the bat, came from a place of ‘How can I be helpful?'” Greenberg said. “Some people generate a warmth and generosity of spirit that you can pick up on pretty quickly, and that was pretty clear pretty fast with Steve.”
Muslim Student Life Coordinator Rushdan Mujahid-Deen, who started his position in September 2025, said Gibbs helped him feel welcome and familiar with the campus, and motivated him to have a strong work ethic.
“He believed in giving you a full day’s pay,” Mujahid-Deen said. “He would never cheat. You wanted him to be here at a certain time, and for a certain time — he was the man for it. He was trustworthy and had a lot of integrity.”
According to Mujahid-Deen, Gibbs never allowed the stressors of work to take his attention away from the people he loved.
“He did his job when he was here, but when he was home, he spent time with his family,” Mujahid-Deen said. “He used to take care of his mother, and he used to take care of his wife too. That’s what I’ll remember him for; he knew how to balance work life and family life.”
According to Thaxton, Gibbs was close with his family and always made time for them.
“He was really into board games,” Thaxton said. “He and his wife would come over, and we’d play games a lot. Now, [without him] there’s just this giant hole.”
Vice President for Community & Equity Warren Anderson said that when he first started his position in July 2025, Gibbs was one of the first people to reach out to him and ask if he needed any help.
“My first impression of Steve is the same impression I have of him right now,” Anderson said. “The nicest, kindest, most soft-spoken and gentle person that I’ve ever met.”
Anderson said Gibbs always filled the room with positivity.
“No matter what’s going on, no matter how stressful things got, no matter how busy things were, he was never too busy to stop and talk,” Anderson said. “Never too busy to offer a hand to someone who needed it. Always willing to be that bright spot.”
Tom Monahan, executive assistant of Marketing & Communications and Community & Equity, said he seldom interacts with people face-to-face, but Gibbs always made an effort to walk over to his office to see him in person.
“He would come over at least once a week, and we would chat about soccer, family or life,” Monahan said. “He’d ask questions about my life, I’d ask about his life.”
Monahan said Gibbs has inspired him to build more personal connections with the people around him and he hopes others will start doing the same.
“Put the effort in because, look at what he did, [Gibbs] put the effort in, and you’re seeing how much of an impact he had in the community and amongst all the staff here,” Monahan said.
Newman Catholic Campus Minister Christopher Negri said he never inquired with Gibbs about his Christian faith, but he could see through his interactions with students, faculty, administrators and parents that Gibbs embodied a spiritual lifestyle.
“He had a wonderful, sonorous, British voice that was a pleasure to listen to,” Negri said via email. “He always participated in the reading of St. John’s Gospel that we do for Good Friday. Most of the time, he would read for Christ, imbuing the text with gravity and dignity.”
Thaxton said Gibbs was a wonderful husband to Hiromi, a dedicated son, a caring big brother, a loyal friend, a conscientious and hardworking employee and an uncle who invested in the lives of his nieces, nephews and grandnieces who adored him in return. His untimely departure leaves a large hole in their hearts.
“Steve’s favorite Bible verse was one that he exemplified,” Thaxton said in the obituary. “We know that he would want this verse to encourage you: ‘No one has ever seen God, but when believers love one another, God lives in them, and His love is made complete (1 John 4:12).'”
Contact Edgar Zatarain at zatarain@oxy.edu
