Earl Hibbs, 99, of Madisonville, KY, passed away on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at Baptist Health Deaconess in Madisonville.
He was born on November 14, 1926, in Nebo, KY, to the late Claudia Jewel Rhew Hibbs. He was a champion race car driver from 1948 to 1954 in Tennessee, Missouri, and Western Kentucky. He worked for Peabody Coal Company Pond River Coal Mines 1949 to 1962, Peabody Coal Company River Queen Coal Mines 1962 to 1981, and was a proud seventy-one-year member of the UMWA Local 1178, District 12. Many people will remember him from Earl’s House of Frames which he and his late wife, Ellwanda, owned and operated from 1973 until 1990. Earl was a member of Nebo Christian Church.
Earl was preceded in death by his wife of seventy-four years, Ellwanda Terry Hibbs; and his son, Steve Hibbs.
He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Doug and Kathy Hibbs of Morgantown, WV; granddaughter and her husband, Emily and Glenn Gress of Scranton, PA; grandson and his wife, Matt and Dana Hibbs of Athens, GA; four beautiful grandchildren, Ethan, Glenn, Aiden, and Grace.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, in the chapel of Harris Funeral Home with Billy Thomas officiating. Burial to follow at Odd Fellows Cemetery in Madisonville, KY.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the funeral hour on Wednesday at the funeral home.
Pallbearers are Emily Gress, Matt Hibbs, Billy Thomas, Glenn Gress, Chris Mattingly, and Laurie Crook. The honorary pallbearers are Doug Hibbs and Ben Waide.
Comments