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Quick thinking saves retired educator Boyd Gibson recovers at home after collapsing, then being revived, at school board meeting By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune A police officer and an unidentified woman helped save the life of a retired Medford School District administrator when he collapsed at a school board meeting. Boyd Gibson, 78, was recovering at home Thursday after his heart stopped at the Nov. 6 meeting. Medications Gibson was taking apparently created a chemical imbalance that caused the attack. "It was a textbook case - his heart stopped beating,'' said Medford Fire Chief Dave Bierwiler. A combination of efforts saved Gibson's life - beginning with a woman who saw Gibson collapse and immediately began performing CPR. Gibson's son, Mitchell Gibson of Medford, said others at the meeting told him the woman had just moved to town and was attending the school board meeting to see what it was like. "She went in and happened to be there at the right time, I guess," he said. School board member Mike Moran, a Medford police lieutenant, assisted with the CPR. Someone called 911 and a fire department emergency medical team soon arrived and used a portable defibrillator to start Gibson's heart before an ambulance transported him to the hospital. "It was one of those classic saves," Bierwiler said. The school board had asked Gibson to attend the meeting to address one of his "pet projects" - school bus routes - said Mitchell Gibson. Boyd Gibson hadn't had a chance to speak before he collapsed. Boyd Gibson taught at Griffin Creek Elementary in 1953 before serving as superintendent and principal in Ruch for 13 years. He returned as principal to Griffin Creek Elementary, moved to Howard Elementary and ended up as Medford's director of elementary education before retiring about a decade ago. Mitchell Gibson recalled that when his father was principal at Griffin Creek, he beat fire engines to the school and saved student records before the building burned down in the 1970s. Boyd Gibson also was known as an advocate of insurance coverage and benefits for teachers, he said. Gibson is a Pearl Harbor survivor who served on the U.S.S. Tennessee as a naval petty officer. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Reporter Melissa Martin also contributed to this story. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.