Former Miami Gardens Mayor Shirley Gibson's legacy celebrated during final farewell
MIAMI -- Shirley Gibson was known to many as the inaugural mayor of the City of Miami Gardens. She fought for the city's incorporation after challenges from those looking to block it but beyond her professional accolades, she meant a lot to many.
Gibson's daughter, Tiffany Wimberly McMillan, remembers her mother as a no-nonsense woman who gave her the tools she needed to succeed. "My mom was a selfless servant. She served, she empowered young people and she always stood on getting the next generation ready," she said.
McMillan tells CBS News Miami's Chelsea Jones her mother died days after a brain bleed, she suffered on October 11. However, she remembers her mother as a pillar not only at home but in the community.
Before becoming the first mayor of Miami Gardens, Gibson was a Miami-Dade police officer. No matter the venue, Gibson had a vision, and others knew it too.
"She saw lack of investment; she saw lack of opportunity and she said you know what. We're going to fix that, and she did," recalled Miami Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Just 20 years after its creation, Miami Gardens is now the largest predominantly Black community in the entire state of Florida. Members of the community came to show their support at the New Way Fellowship and Praise Worship Center for the funeral and memorial services held for the former mayor.
Serving as mayor from 2003 until 2012, Gibson dedicated her life to service. Her daughter says her last act of service was on October 11th, when she spoke at the Embrace Girls Foundation International Girls Day Celebration.
Shirley Gibson passed away on October 16th she was 79 years old.