Mabel May Gibson Polk

She was born January 13, 1934 in the Mineral Springs Community of Richmond County, NC to the late Archie Clinton Gibson and Lucy May Seago Gibson.

Mabel was affectionately known as "Meemaw" to her granddaughters and great-grandchildren. She married Jack Richard Polk ("Pawpaw") on February 13, 1958; they were married until his passing on May 1, 2000. Mabel worked for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System in the cafeteria for nearly 30 years, and made many friends there. She was a loving mother, wife, aunt, sister, and grandmother, who taught her family the importance of love, care, and loyalty. She had a very welcoming nature, and her home was always open to friends and loved ones. She was, first and foremost, a passionately devoted Christian woman, who loved to go to church, pray, read her Bible, and share the love of Jesus with the people in and beyond her family. She was an avid gardener, always taking great pride in the many flower beds in her yard. She liked to go shopping, especially at thrift stores and yard sales, and made friends with people wherever she went. Besides gardening, she enjoyed puzzles, Jane Austen novels, Christian romance novels, John Wayne films, playing Scrabble and card games with the family, taking trips to places like the beach and the zoo, and celebrating birthdays and holidays, especially dyeing eggs at Easter time and having Christmas gatherings at her house. She had an amazing memory for names, birthdays, anniversaries, and other happenings, and also had a fun sense of humor.

Besides her parents and her husband, Mabel was preceded in death by her daughter, Sherry Polk Buchanan, her sisters; Elizabeth "Betty" Johnson, Lorena Cornelia "Connie" Lathan, and Frances Rowell, and her brothers; Joseph "Joe" Gibson and Albert Clinton "Clint" Gibson.

She is survived by her son, Richard "Rick" Polk and daughter-in-law, Karen Polk, her son-in-law, David Buchanan, her granddaughters; Jessica Polk Williams (husband Aaron Williams), Emily Buchanan, and Rebekah Buchanan, her great-grandchildren; Tucker Williams, Tripp Williams and Sutton Williams, her sister, Eudocia "Docia" Bridwell, and her brother, Elmer Reece Gibson. She is also survived by many friends, nieces, nephews, and extended family, who are honored to have known her and grown up with her. She will be greatly missed.

The family will receive friends from 11:00am to 12:00pm on Wednesday, April 5th, 2023 at McEwen Funeral Service - Mint Hill Chapel 7428 Matthews Mint Hill Rd. Mint Hill, NC 28227. Funeral Services will be held in the chapel at 12:00pm. Mabel will then be laid to rest at Sunset Memory Gardens in Mint Hill.

The family has requested that guests, if they would like to/are able to, wear spring colors or floral-themed attire to the memorial service. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to Love's Grove Methodist Church (4360 Polk Ford Rd, Stanfield, NC 28163).