Carl Kibbe Passes at 69
Carl H. Kibbe
April 8, 1946 – January 14, 2016
Resided in Hope, RI
Carl H. Kibbe, 69, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, January 14, 2016. He was the loving husband of Debra L. (Mello) Kibbe of Hope, RI. Born in Providence, RI he was the son of the late Clayton H. Kibbe and the late Eunice Ethel (Buttle) Kibbe.
Mr. Kibbe was a member of the North Eastern Midget Association (NEMA). He won 4 championships in the late 80’s and early 90’s and 2nd place 8 times and won many individual races. He and his brother Donald began their racing endeavors around 1975 with their father Clayton, who also raced cars. The three of them had ventured into a family business together, the former Kibbe Milk Transportation Co. He then worked for Sunoco Inc. as a maintenance technician for 28 years before retiring in 2009. He was a knowledgeable and handy person to have around. He was always willing to help someone and was the ‘go-to-guy’ if you were wanting something fixed.
Besides his wife Debra, he is survived by his children: Curt H. Kibbe (his companion Rebecca) of Norwalk, CT, Russell C. Kibbe (his wife Kristen) of Smithfield, RI: Richard Mourao (his wife Sarah) of Coventry, RI and Phillip Mourao (his companion Karen) of Cranston, RI; nine grandchildren: Tiana, Kaitlyn, Brooke, Matthew, Camryn, Chrysten, Kelli, Dylan and Madisyn; three great grandchildren; a brother: Donald C. Kibbe (his wife Vivian) of Seekonk, MA; a niece Lynne A. Mello and nephew David P. Kibbe.
Funeral and processional gathering will take place at Greenwood Presbyterian Church, 805 Main Avenue, Warwick, RI on Tuesday, January 19 at 10:00 AM followed with interment in All Saints Cemetery, Warwick RI. Calling hours will be Monday, January 18 from 4:00 – 7:00 PM at Carpenter-Jenks Funeral Home, 659 East Greenwich Avenue, West Warwick, RI.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Matty Fund at mattyfund.org.
– See more at: http://www.carpenterjenks.com/obituary/Carl-H.-Kibbe/Hope-RI/1581330#sthash.H14KcqTD.dpuf
Sources: CarpenterJenks.com
CARL KIBBE
Carl Kibbe was a fixture in the NEMA pits for over two decades, taking his first owner’s championship in 1980. His partnership with the legendary Dave Humphrey at the wheel of the iconic Lindblad Badger produced many wins, and the Kibbe cockpit was occupied by some other great NEMA wheelmen, including Doug Cleveland, Paul Stoehr, and Jim Lowery, Jr. But it was Joey Coy who brought Carl three championships and further cemented the Kibbe team’s reputation as the one to beat in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
When NEMA banned the Badger at the end of 1989 it wasn’t easy for the family team. But Carl didn’t let the banning of his championship car stop him. He and the family reinvested and won two more titles with Coy.
Carl always wore his heart on his sleeve; you knew exactly where you stood with him. He’d show emotion at winning a NEMA award just as easily as arguing for a rule change during a NEMA meeting. But in the end, he was always Carl, a stand up guy who’d help anyone.
It wasn’t easy for Carl to give up owning a race car, but reinvesting in new equipment at the end of the championship runs of the 90’s was getting harder to justify. Thankfully, that didn’t stop him from showing up at NEMA races and working on race cars. He was a happy guy with a wrench in his hand.
As NEMA gears up for next season there won’t be a soul in the pits who won’t miss Carl’s good humor, talent, and unabashed support for NEMA midget racing. Make no mistake, we lost one of the nice guys today. Our community is a little poorer without Carl, but no doubt he’s bench racing with Gene Angelillo, Boston Louie Seymour, and Iron Mike Scrivani. He’s taken his place among the NEMA legends.
Calling hours are Monday. 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Carpenter Jenks Funeral Home. 659 East Greenwich Ave., West Warwick, RI
Service on Tuesday Morning – 10:00 AM.
Greenwood Presbyterian Church. 805 Main Ave., Warwick, RI Burial to follow.
Condolences to: Carl Kibbe, 68 Ben Brown Rd., Hope, RI 02831
Sources: NEMARacing.com