Thelma Vernell Anderson Gibson, a pioneering nurse, civil rights advocate and longtime Coconut Grove community leader, has died at 99.
According to a statement from her family, Gibson died at home on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, surrounded by family and her priest. She was described as a “beloved nurse, trailblazer, community champion and family matriarch,” whose greatest achievement was serving “the community, her family and her church, Christ Episcopal Church.” Funeral arrangements are pending.
Born Dec. 17, 1926, on Charles Street — formerly known as Evangelist Street — Gibson grew up in Coconut Grove’s segregated “Colored Town” in a home without electricity or running water. She was the sixth of 14 children…