The Canadian swimming pool and spa industry recently lost one of its founding members with the passing of Ed Gibbs Sr. He was 84.Gibbs Sr., founder of Gib-San Pools, a swimming pool and spa design/build and maintenance company in Toronto, passed suddenly on Oct. 17. He was a strong contributor to the swimming pool industry for more than 50 years and well-known and highly respected amongst his peers. He served as president of the Ontario Swimming Pool Association (OSPA) in 1968 and the Canadian Swimming Pool Association (CANSPA) in 1983.
In 1972, after working for more than a decade with Robert Sanelli at Sanelli Pools, the two men started their own swimming pool and spa company, calling it Gib-San Pools. The name was born out of the two founding family names. Their vision was to make their company different by combining team strength, commitment to training and management with the goal of capturing and transforming their customer’s dreams into reality.
In a 2005 Pool & Spa Marketing company profile, Gibbs Sr.’s son, Edward D. Gibbs, who started working for the company in 1981, holding various positions while attending high school and university before becoming the company’s president and CEO, said: “Gib-San started as a builder then evolved into a builder/service company. As time moved on, we transformed into a builder, service, renovation, and retail company.”
After 15 years of learning the business from the ground up, under the tutelage of his father, Gibbs purchased the company from his father in 1996. At that time, Gibbs Sr. continued to work part-time with the company in sales as he was a great source of experience and knowledge.
He is survived by his wife, Maureen, daughters, Cathy and Patricia, and sons, Gerry, Dan, Chris, Joe, and Edward.
