David Gibson of Gibson's Bakery dies; funeral arrangements set (UPDATED)

David Gibson, co-owner of Gibson's Bakery in Oberlin, died Saturday after battling cancer for most of the year. The bakery announced his death on Facebook. The statement said he died at home in Oberlin, surrounded by his family. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Cowling Funeral Home. Calling hours are from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday at The First Church in Oberlin United Church of Christ on North Main Street in Oberlin. That church will also be the site of the memorial service at 11 a.m. Friday. Gibson, 65, still was working in the bakery and helping customers at the family business as recently as last summer, even as he sought treatment for pancreatic cancer. Prayers, condolences and thoughts poured in from customers, friends, former employees and strangers on several Facebook posts Saturday. "Such a wonderful man," Christina Branham-Zaffer wrote. "I still have memories with my Grandma, running to the bakery a few times a month from Elyria. Thank you for treating your customers like family. That's exactly how my Grandma and I always felt." "David always remembered me whenever I visited Oberlin and called me by name," Michael Bruce wrote. "Always kind and positive." "Heartfelt condolences to Lorna and the whole Gibson family. He will be sorely missed in Oberlin," Pamela Schmid wrote. The bakery has been in Oberlin since 1885. Oberlin Business Partnership Director Janet Haar, who on Saturday she had known David Gibson and his family for the eight years she has been in Oberlin, called their business an "integral" part of the downtown business district and wider community for decades. Gibson's Bakery is "a constant and a business that Oberlin could be proud of for years," she said. "David and his family are well-respected citizens of the city and he will definitely be missed." Writing on The Chronicle-Telegram Facebook page Saturday, Nicholas Choma said David Gibson was working this summer when Choma decided to stop by. "I stopped in to get some donuts right as they were opening, one day, and Mr Gibson dropped EVERYTHING he was doing to make sure I had hot donuts to take for the day," Choma wrote. "You won't ever know how much that meant to me, knowing of your situation. Most people would have hung it up. Not Mr Gibson, though. You will be remembered fondly." David Gibson announced he had pancreatic cancer in a video posted to the bakery's Facebook page in August. He said he received the diagnosis in February but kept the news private. The bakery and Gibson family were frequently in the news over the past three years as part of a major legal case that continues to make its way through Ohio courts. Even as he fought cancer, David Gibson, his father Allyn "Grandpa" Gibson and the bakery fought a court battle against Oberlin College over the college's role in a student protest against the business in November 2016. A Lorain County jury awarded David Gibson, his father and the bakery a $44 million judgment against Oberlin College for defamation and other civil claims, though that judgment later was reduced to $25 million plus $6.5 million fees for their attorneys. The bakery and its owners sued the college two years ago. They accused the college of interfering with their business, inflicting emotional distress and defaming the business and its owners. "I've always been proud of Oberlin, my community, and we've worked our lives - my father and myself - to try to make Oberlin a good place to live and to do business," David Gibson told the Chronicle for a story in November 2017. The jury's award was a "vindication" and gave the family "an opportunity to keep the lights on for another generation," David Gibson said immediately following the verdict in the six-week trial this spring. The college and the Gibsons agreed not to bring up David Gibson's diagnosis during the trial. In his video in August, David Gibson said the outpouring of support from the community and people around the country during the legal battle showed how much people cared about the family and their business. "The fight has always been about sending the message that the truth still matters, and doing the right thing, even when it's difficult, is important no matter who you are or where you live," he said in the video. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.