A Final Farewell To Former Philly Police Officer, Well-Known Journalist
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Loved ones will say their final farewell to a former Philadelphia police officer and well-known journalist on Tuesday. Tom Gibbons, a long-time reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, died last week after a short battle with brain cancer.
Before life as a journalist, Gibbons was a member of Philadelphia's elite highway patrol unit through the 1960s, working in high-crime neighborhoods until he was shot in August of 1970.
""He probably should have died then," said Mike Chitwood, Upper Darby Police Superintendent and long-time friend of Gibbons. "But there was a surgeon who had just gotten back from Vietnam who was used to war injuries, which Tom had.
"Tommy and I on an arrest became friends," Chitwood said, "and I am going back 50 years ago."
Gibbons retired from the police force on disability in the early 1970's. He began work as a reporter for the Evening Bulletin and the Inquirer, mostly covering crime stories.
"The thing that always amazed me about Tommy is any time he had to write a story about a police officer, it took a piece of his soul," Chitwood said.
Gibbons was 73 years old.
"He will be truly missed by me as a friend," Chitwood said, "and the ultimate professional."
A funeral mass will be held Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at Maternity BVM Church in Northeast Philadelphia.