Alan Curtis Bibb died peacefully at Meadowlands Hospice on March 20, 2010 after a lengthy illness. To the end of his life, Alan remained a courageous bright spirit, a dear son and brother and a true friend. His passion for living inspired many. His gospel faith was central to his life. He loved God, golf and jazz music.
Born March 9, 1959 in Pensacola, Fla. to Barbara Nettles-Carlson and the late Tisdale Wyatt Bibb, Alan spent his early childhood in Pensacola and Brigham City, Utah before moving to Chapel Hill, N.C. with his family in 1964. He graduated from Chapel Hill High School in 1977 and then served his country as a sonar specialist in the U.S. Navy for four years, having many adventures during a Mediterranean tour of duty aboard the aircraft carrier J.F. Kennedy. Returning to Chapel Hill, he joined the U.S. Postal Service, making many new friends on his walking mail route. Alan felt called to become a lay minister in his Christian faith community, serving until his health prevented him from doing that work. Despite his disability, Alan continued his education and graduated from North Carolina Central University summa cum laude in 1991. He then worked as an accountant in Hillsborough, N.C. and Kissimmee and Orlando, Fla. until he became unable to work and returned to Chapel Hill in 2007.
Survivors are Alan’s mother, Barbara, and his stepfather, Curtis McLaughlin, of Chapel Hill; brothers, William Wyatt Bibb of Carrboro, N.C. and David Bruce Bibb of Chapel Hill; sister, Vikki Bibb Lee and her husband, Roddy, of Asheville, N.C.; nieces, Kristen Lee Bermudez (Eduardo) of Montgomery Village, Md. and Chelsea Lee Smith (Zafar and grandnephew, Zorion) of Porirua, New Zealand; and his four McLaughlin step-siblings and five step-nieces and nephews. Also surviving are aunts Margaret Nettles O’Reilly and Vicky Nettles Eby and cousins Brian and Eric Nelson and Andy and Steve O’Reilly and their families.
A service of worship celebrating Alan’s life was held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 27, at Binkley Baptist Church, 1712 Willow Drive, Chapel Hill, followed by a family graveside service and burial at Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery on Legion Road. Binkley friends, family and Alan’s local meeting friends gathered for a potluck fellowship meal at 8823 Drew Lane, Chapel Hill.
Memorial donations may be sent to Duke Home Care & Hospice, 4321 Medical Park Drive, Suite 101, Durham, NC, 27704, or to NAMI North Carolina, 309 W. Millbrook Road, Suite 121, Raleigh, NC, 27609. Arrangements are by Walker’s Funeral Home of Chapel Hill.