Born at Oak Mountain in Bedford County, Susie Gibson was the daughter of Thomas and Matilda Thompson. She earned a B.S. from Virginia State College and devoted more than forty years to the education of the county’s African American youth. For twenty-five of those years she served as superintendent of black schools, working much of that time as a supervisor paid by the Jeanes Fund. Like other Jeanes supervisors, Susie Gibson was active in her community. She served organizations such as the Bedford County Tuberculosis Association, the American Red Cross, and several county churches. Known as “a self-sacrificing woman for the betterment of the education of the youth,” Gibson’s influence was said to be “undying.” The Susie Gibson High School was named in her honor.
