John Gibson was a seminary professor and a pastor. Besides teaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, he was also fixing cars.
He was married and he had two children. When he she got the call about the death of his father Callie, his daughter, was teaching in front of 250 college students. He took his life on August 24, six days after hackers exposed the names of million people who had signed up for Ashley Madison – a notorious site where people seek affairs. John Gibson was on that list too.
The person who discovered her husband’s body was his wife, Christi. “It was a moment that life doesn’t prepare you for. I had to call my kids. How do you tell your kids that their dad is gone and that he took his own life?”
John Gibson left a suicide note where he chronicled his demons. In that note, he also mentioned Ashley Madison.
“He talked about depression. He talked about having his name on there, and he said he was just very, very sorry. What we know about him is that he poured his life into other people, and he offered grace and mercy and forgiveness to everyone else, but somehow he couldn’t extend that to himself.” said Christi.
In July Ashley Madison was hacked and hackers released users’ personal information in August. About his husband, she said that he was worried he’d lose his job. “It wasn’t so bad that we wouldn’t have forgiven it, and so many people have said that to us, but for John, it carried such a shame.” said Christi.
His family said that John Gibson was known as a great teacher, but in the past he had struggled with addiction and depression.
Christi Gibson has a message for all those who are on the list:
“These were real people with real families, real pain and real loss,” said Christi. But “don’t underestimate the power of love. Nothing is worth the loss of a father and a husband and a friend. It just didn’t merit it. It didn’t merit it at all.”
