Thomas “Butch” Gibson came to Chowan in the fall of 1962 after being recruited by then-coach, Jim Garrison. Butch was a lineman for the then-Braves where he helped to lead the program to two very successful junior college seasons.
Butch graduated from Lexington Senior High School in his hometown of Lexington, N.C. in 1961. He grabbed the eye of Coach Garrison and helped Chowan to 13 wins and just four program losses over his two seasons. In his freshman year on the field, Butch and the then-Braves posted an 8-1 overall record. The team ranked as high as sixth in the nation amongst junior colleges and featured one of the top defensive teams in the country as the Braves surrendered just 13 points that season. The team’s lone loss that year was a 6-3 loss to rival Ferrum College.
Butch graduated from Chowan and returned to his hometown to work for Link Taylor Furniture Company. In 1966, he became an officer with the Lexington Police Department. He started as a patrol officer and later he became the crime prevention officer and formed numerous Neighborhood Watch Programs throughout the city. Butch advanced to the detective division where he investigated crimes dealing with anything from break-ins to homicides. Two years later, he received a promotion to lieutenant over a patrol team, a position he held for two years. He was promoted to captain of detectives, which was one of the three divisions within the department.
During his 30-year tenure with the police department, he attended numerous schools and classes including the North Carolina Justice Academy. He also coached football at Lexington Middle School for 20 years where the team won eight conference championships and recorded five undefeated seasons. Butch has been a part of several capital campaigns for Chowan and the football program. He was instrumental in assisting with the field lights campaign and the Pond Center campaign.
He is a member of Second United Church of Christ. He is a past board member of Youth and Family Counseling, an agency that deals with troubled youth, and the past president of the Lexington Optimist Club. He is the president of the Davidson County Retired Public Safety and First Responders Club. He is a member of the Lexington Memorial Masonic Lodge #473, the North Carolina Shriners, and the Davidson County/Lexington Shriners.
He married the former Julia Grayson in 1965, and they had a daughter, Jenny, who passed away in 2010, leaving behind a 4-year-old daughter, Josie. They adopted their granddaughter before his wife passed away in 2020. Josie lives with Butch and is now a junior at Central Davidson High School and played on the tennis team. She also played on the community softball and swim teams.
