Obituary: John Kibbons (July 4, 1942 – April 24, 2026)

John Kibbons, 83, of Juneau and Lemesurier Island, Alaska, took his last breath on April 24, 2026. He left this world peacefully, with good friends at his side.

John Kibbons

John came to Alaska in 1968. He lived a life different than most, on the periphery of convention and social norms. While there was much about him that was unknowable and mysterious, he was ever the charming southern gentleman, armed with a wry sense of humor, and never lacking for company to listen to his stories. 

Kibbons, as he was often called, had a great passion for good cooking, no doubt well-honed in France, where he spent his junior year in college, and later at a cooking school in San Francisco. John’s work as a fishing guide in Southeast Alaska would bring many a delicacy to the table (His trout meuniere would have been the envy of Julia Childs herself!) Most years, he would also grace a table with fresh venison, taken from the forest behind his cabin. When hunting, John always took pride in having the utmost respect for the land and the wildlife around him. In the end, most of his estate would be left to three Alaska environmental organizations, for their work in conserving wildlife and wild lands. It would be his gift in return for all that had come to him through the years.  

Later in life, John chose to spend winters outside Alaska, but he would always return in the summer to his beloved homestead cabin on Lemesurier Island, near Glacier Bay.

Here he lived at the edge of the ocean, happily alone, like the cabin’s earliest homesteaders, Muz and Joe Ibach before him.

John directed in his will that his ashes be placed in the garden in front of the cabin next to where the Ibach’s are buried. In July of 2026, when friends gather, John will join the spirits of Muz and Joe — and all the other wild creatures of his special island. He will truly be home again, right where he always most wanted to be.