Vivian Leigh

Vivian Gibson Leigh, of Yakima, passed away on Friday, May 4, 2018 at A Cottage in the Meadow. Vivian was born on June 16, 1921 in Jasonville, Indiana, the daughter of Blaine and Bertha (Huff) Gibson. She was the youngest of four children, brothers Gerald and Blaine Gibson, and sister Lucille Gibson Tucker. In 1925, Vivian’s father was one of the miners killed at the City Mine near Sullivan, Indiana. Two years later, Vivian’s family moved to Yakima to be near her extended family. Vivian attended nursing school at Saint Elizabeth graduating with 18 other nurses in 1942. She worked as a surgical nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital, before becoming a school nurse working at multiple schools in Yakima including Castlevale, McKinley, Nob Hill, Franklin, and Davis. Vivian met her future husband, Forrest Leigh, in Yakima in 1942 while he was receiving training at the Yakima Firing Range. When he was transferred to Tennessee, she went with him and they were married August 7, 1943 in Tennessee. After Forrest’s military deployment in WWII, and a move to Utah, Forrest and Vivian returned to Yakima in 1948 to raise their family and went on to enjoy 65 years of marriage. Vivian was very active and enjoyed square dancing, golfing, tennis, playing bridge, and crocheting. Visits with her grandchildren always included her delicious homemade pies and applesauce, and feeding the ducks at the park. She was a long time member of Broadway Christian Church and more recently at Yakima Covenant Church. After Vivian retired from the Health Department and Forrest’s retirement in 1978 they began the snowbird life. For the next 20 years they spent summers in Yakima and winters in Mesa, Arizona. Upon returning to Yakima full time in 1999, Vivian continued her love for nursing by volunteering at Memorial Hospital and caring first for her husband and then her sister in their last stages of life. Vivian was preceded in death by her husband, Forrest, daughter, Francelle Marie, parents, Blaine and Bertha, sister, Lucille, and brothers Gerald and Blaine. She is survived by her sons, Jeffrey (and Linda) of Yakima and Curtis (and Diane) of Olympia; five grandchildren, Cassandra, Justin (and Andrea), Steven, Andrea (and Drew), and Jeffrey; and 5 great grandchildren, Frances, William, Vivian, Blake, and Chelsey. A celebration of life will be held at Yakima Covenant Church on Monday, June 25, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Vivian Leigh, please visit our flower store.