Portrait shot of Joan. She wears a flowery blouse and has short grey hair and glasses.

Remembering Joan Gibson

Cathy Crawford

January 17, 2025

Our Charity

Humanist Cathy Crawford remembers her friend and mentor Joan Gibson, who passed away last month.

terminus approaching
let me alight gently please
Haiku by Joan Gibson

Joan Gibson was a poet and a humanist and much more. She died on Saturday 7 December 2024 at the age of 81. Those within the humanist movement will miss her presence, just as her family are missing her now. She was a remarkable person whose life is hard to put into a few words.

I first encountered Joan when she was on what was then the National Executive Committee (now a Board of Trustees) back at the beginning of the century. That was when I began to learn what her vision for the Humanist Society Scotland looked like. In those days, there were no paid staff, celebrants were not able to offer legal weddings and had limited structure or training, and membership was counted in hundreds. Today, the humanist movement in Scotland has a much greater presence. This change is not down to any one individual; our collective efforts have brought many positive changes. But the pursuit of such aims needs someone to believe in a humanist future and to see the way forward.

Joan was always thinking about how to improve everything: me, the humanist movement, and the world.

One of Joan’s priorities was to build a caring community for people who chose to join Humanist Society Scotland. In pursuit of this she gave generously of her time in building up social groups, and creating supportive, social friendship links. One which still runs today is HELL (Humanists Enjoying Living Life). This group enjoyed a programme of visits to exhibitions plus short trips within the UK and Europe. Meeting with other humanist groups was often part of the pleasure of these trips. The idea of internationalism within humanism was very much part of what motivated Joan. She was an active member of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and its successor organisation, Humanists International.

As a friend, Joan organised me into being a better person than I would have been otherwise. She was kind and generous, and talented in so many ways. She will be missed by many, not least because she was so organised and so generous, and always thinking about how to improve everything: me, the humanist movement, and the world.

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