George Gibbs; Ex-President of State Board of Accountancy

George Gibbs, 83, former president of the California State Board of Accountancy who taught economics at Claremont McKenna College. Born in Boston, Gibbs moved to California as a teen-ager. He earned degrees at Pomona College, Harvard Business School and UC Berkeley. During World War II, he held the rank of Navy lieutenant commander and was senior watch officer and boat group commander during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In addition to heading the state Board of Accountancy, Gibbs was active in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where he helped write the CPA examinations used nationwide. He began his career as an accountant and taught economics, accounting and corporation finance at Claremont from 1949 until his retirement in 1978. Gibbs served as treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles from 1948 to 1975. He was active in the Marine Memorial Club, the Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Camellia Society and the Sierra Club, for which he made the first winter climb and descent on skis of Mt. San Gorgonio. On Saturday in Claremont after a stroke.