David Roger Thibault

David Roger Thibault, age 58 of Virginia (formerly of Alaska for 33 years) died Tuesday, January 28, 2021 at Solvay Hospice House in Duluth, MN after a 19 month battle of pancreatic cancer. He was born September 21, 1962 in Berwyn, Illinois, the son of Ronald and Joanne Thibault and was a graduate of Virginia Roosevelt High School, Class of 1981. He married Gloria Fabiano on March 18, 2000 in Girdwood, Alaska. David had an adventurous spirit and left home at the age of 20 for Alaska with his goal of becoming a fishing guide. He achieved his goal by guiding on and off for 12 years on Lake Iliamna and the Kuichak River where he met amazing people and had the most incredible time of his life. 

He worked for 32 years in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in the oil and gas industry as a supply chain manager. While working in Prudhoe, he met Gloria, his loving wife and partner of 31 years. During that time, he worked for three years at Endicott Island and was part of the fire and environmental teams and was an airboat operator. After leaving Prudhoe Bay in 2015, he took a job with Royal Dutch Shell in Everett, Washington working on the Chukchi Sea Exploration Project as a logistics manager. After Shell abandoned the project, he finished his working career with Exxcel Pacific General Contractor. He was the Site Logistics Coordinator on the 3- year construction project of the Southport Offices in Renton, Washington, working from groundbreaking to completion.

Dave had a strong work ethic and excelled at everything he set out to do. He was very well respected by coworkers and supervisors.  He always said “I never met a stranger”. Dave’s positive attitude and sense of humor made an impact on so many people.  Dave was very loved and will be missed by family, friends, coworkers and the people he met along the way.

David is survived by his wife: Gloria Thibault of Virginia ( formerly of Alaska for 43 years); Parents: Ron and Joanne Thibault of Mountain Iron; step-children: Tammy (Jim) Black of Alaska, Charlie Galvin of Texas, and Elizabeth Johnson of Oregon; grandchildren: Cody, Zachary, Alexis, Joey, Tatiana, Isaiah, and Jordan; siblings: Shari Christenson of Virginia and Mike (Deb) Thibault of Chisago City; nieces and nephews: Megan, Ryan, Tess, Tyler; extended family and friends.

He was preceded in death by: grandparents: Peggy and Herman Thibault and Joe and Mary Schommer; and uncles: Armand Thibault, William Schommer.

The family would like to thank the entire Essentia Health Hospice team, Dr. Peterson and the Solvay House caregivers for their excellent care and compassion he received.

The Memorial Mass will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Virginia. Reverend Father Brandon Moravitz, Celebrant. A gathering time for family and friends will begin one hour prior to the Mass.

Family services provided by Bauman-Cron, A Bauman Family Funeral Home in Virginia. To share condolences online, please see: www.baumanfuneralhome.com .