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Homer teen, Parker Gibson, dies at 15

Courtesy of Robert Gibson and the R.E.C. room

A Homer teenager died in a small-plane crash in California on Friday. Fifteen-year-old Robert Parker Gibson, known as Parker, was about to be a junior at Homer High School. 

A handful of Gibson’s closest friends are at KBBI studio dedicating a memorial show to him. They’re  talking about Gibson’s welcoming manner, his intelligence and his passion for music.

“That was his way to connect with people was through music and through art, and it was just so beautiful to watch,” said Zoe Cramer, one of Gibson’s friends.

Cramer said can hardly remember all the times they spent making music together.

“I would be like Parker, do your thing!” she said laughing. “He would just go at it and it was so inspiring to watch. He was the one who taught me how to produce music.

Gibson’s dad, Robert Gibson, said music was a driving force for his son.

“He played the guitar he played, you know the piano. He played the sax as a little kid.

Robert and Gibson moved to Homer roughly six years ago. Robert said his son loved Homer and made a special community here. Gibson became a peer educator at the R.E.C. room helping to teach sex education and substance misuse and abuse prevention among other topics to students.

“The R.E.C. room was just an unbelievable experience for him to being able to mentor kids,” Robert said.  “To watch him learn that whole process of being nervous about speaking and then ultimately watching him feel field really tough questions from parents.”

He said his son was also passionate about astrophysics and wanted to pursue the subject in college.

Robert said his son went down to California a few weeks ago to visit his late mother’s parents. He took a ride with a family friend Matthew Kaplan who also died in the accident. The plane crashed near the Hesperia airport, according to the Associated Press.

The National Transportation Safety Board has not put up a preliminary report on the crash nor the cause of it.

Robert said his son will be remembered for his kind presence.

“He fit in wherever he was at,” Robert said.  “He was simply the pleasure his entire life, his family and friends and school and anybody he really met, he just had a way of impacting you in a sweet kind peaceful manner.”

Gibson is survived by his father Robert and his sister Danielle. There will be a memorial service for him on Saturday at Bishops Beach from 2-6 p.m.

Teenagers struggling with Gibson’s death can also visit the R.E.C. Room for help. It is open from 3-6 p.m. daily and walk-ins for teenagers 12-18 are welcome.  

Renee joined KBBI in 2017 as a general assignment reporter and host. Her work has appeared on such shows as Weekend Edition Saturday, The World, Marketplace and Studio 360. Renee previously interned as a reporter for KPCC in Los Angeles and as a producer for Stateside at Michigan Radio. Her work has earned her numerous press club awards. She holds an M.S. in journalism from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in women's studies from the University of Michigan.