By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
A Cashion firefighter’s life was cut short after he lost his battle with cancer this week, but his legacy lives on in a book he published four years ago.
Trent Hunter Gibson passed away Sunday, Oct. 21 surrounded by family. He was 44.
A memorial service was held at 1 p.m. Friday Oct. 26 at the Cashion First Baptist Church. Fire trucks from departments all over the state lined up along the three-mile stretch from Gibson’s home to the church for the service.
Gibson graduated from Piedmont High School in 1992. He married his high school
sweetheart Stephanie Leafe who gave birth to their son, Hunter Cole Gibson.
Despite the painful loss of his father, 12-year-old Hunter does have something from his father that may last a lifetime.
“God told him to write a book and said to him, ‘what would happen if you weren’t here, if you aren’t here when he turns 26? What would you want him to know?’ Gibson’s mother, Rita Gibson, recalled.
Trent Gibson wrote a book, “Treasure: Discovery of True Manhood” as a road map to finding wisdom amidst life’s challenges. He wrote about matters such as friendship, courage, humility, failure, anger and forgiveness to name a few.
The book, written in the form of a first-person letter, shares Gibson’s important life experiences and reflects on moments in his son’s life.
“He sent it off to be proof-read and three days later he started having headaches he’d never had before,” Rita Gibson said. “He had a softball sized tumor. He had two surgeries to remove it.”
Gibson lived a full life in his 44 years. He lived in Singapore from 1978 to 1986 where his father worked in the oil industry. He returned to Oklahoma for his seventh grade year and after graduating high school played college baseball for the University of Central Oklahoma.
He worked in the financial services industry from 2001 to 2013 and joined the Cashion volunteer fire department in 2012. He was assistant fire chief.
“He’d always wanted to be a hero and he was to many people,” Rita Gibson said.
Several fellow firefighters and friends posted messages to the Cashion Fire Department Facebook page.
Mark McDougal wrote that Gibson was a good man.
“He stepped up to become a volunteer firefighter for the Cashion community,” he wrote.
“Took on the Asst. Chief’s role when no one wanted it. Did a great job. Proud to call him a brother and friend! Life is unfair! Lost a good one. Prayers to his family in this difficult time. Rest in peace, we will miss you.”
Firefighters from Deer Creek, Payne, Chickasha, Commerce, Greer and other communities posted condolences to the page.
