Scott Francis Gibney

Scott Francis Gibney, 68, of Phoenix, Arizona, passed away in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his family, on May 10 th, 2020. Scott is survived by his daughter, Jill (Justin) Brey, son, Evan (Kari) Gibney, brothers David (Molly) Gibney and Mitchell (Robin) Gibney, grandchildren (Evan's) Oliver, Lucy and Maisie, and many loving nieces, nephews and extended family. Scott was a loving father, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend and mentor. Scott was preceded in death by his parents, Mary Lou and Frank, sister Laura and granddaughter Grace. Born in Phoenix on February 2 nd, 1952, Scott spent his childhood living in many places including New Mexico, Wisconsin and Massachusetts before coming back to Arizona after his high-school graduation to be near his beloved grandparents AR and Cecelia Burton, where he attended both NAU and ASU and met his ex-wife, Virginia (Cook) Gibney, with which he had Jill and Evan. Scott received a BS in Accounting from NAU, and also earned his master's degree in from ASU. Through his career in accounting and finance, he worked for only a handful of companies where he quickly rose to CFO and was known for his keen business acumen. One of his favorite positions was with a company called Southwest Jet Aviation, managing private jets out of Scottsdale - alongside his son, Evan, who also worked there for several years. During college, Scott worked as a short-order cook/chef and had a love of cooking and food the remainder of his life which he passed on to Jill and Evan. Most family get-togethers focused around what to cook or which restaurant to go check out. He loved watching Julia Child's The French Chef and episodes of The Great British Bake-Off. In his younger years, Scott loved spending time outdoors - from hiking the Grand Canyon to camping, rock-climbing, hunting/fishing and golfing. His all-time favorite store (and he was not a shopper) was REI. He was like a kid in a candy store there. In addition to his love of the outdoors, Scott was also an avid reader and incredibly interested in other cultures, religions and world history. After retirement, Scott read every night and read his way thru a list of Top 100 Historical Books of All Time (many of which were translated to English) - which took him over 4 years to complete. Scott will be most remembered for being a gentle giant, showing his love by always "showing up" and ready to lend an ear and give sound advice if needed. He was quiet and reserved but also could be incredibly charismatic and charming. He also LOVED being a grandfather. "Papa Scott" as he was called, loved spending these last few years watching his 3 grandchildren grow and was so delighted about everything they did and said. Above all, to all who knew him, he was the funniest man we knew - always able to rattle off the perfectly timed dry or self-deprecating line of humor that had us rolling around in stitches crying. Even in his very last days he had us laughing. Scott will be greatly missed by all who were blessed to be loved by him. A special thank you to Hospice of the Valley for their loving care and support during his final days. A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Phoenix Children's Hospital.