Luther Gibson, 93; Ex-Legislator, Paper Owner

Luther E. Gibson, a former newspaper owner and state senator, has died at the age of 93.

Gibson, who had been in poor health for the last few years, died Wednesday at his home.

Gibson was the owner or part-owner of several newspapers in Solano and Contra Costa counties, buying his first paper, the Antioch Tribune, in 1919.

From 1948 to 1968, Gibson, a Democrat, represented Vallejo and Benicia in the Legislature.

The Felton native began his newspaper career as an apprentice, setting type for publications in Santa Cruz. He remained a member of the International Typesetters Union throughout his life.

Gibson moved to Vallejo in the 1920s and founded the Vallejo Herald, a morning daily, in 1922. Later that same year, he bought the Vallejo Times and merged the two papers into the Vallejo Times-Herald.

Five years later, Gibson bought the Vallejo Evening Chronicle and merged it with another afternoon paper, the Vallejo News, to form the Evening News-Chronicle.

Gibson sold the Times-Herald to the Donrey Media Group in 1974. He earlier had stopped publishing the News-Chronicle.

At one time, Gibson also owned or partly owned the Martinez News-Gazette, the Napa Journal, Sonora Democrat and Daily Contra Costa Gazette. He still owned Gibson Publications, which publishes the Benicia Herald.

Gibson is survived by his wife, Maybelle; a daughter, Jeanne Payne of Vallejo, and three grandchildren.

Services were scheduled for Friday in Vallejo.