For more than two decades, if something needed to be done in Brookline, Elva McGibbeny was "at the helm," said Marlene Curran, a member of the Brookline Area Community Council.

Mrs. McGibbeny served as president or vice president of the council for more than 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s, transforming it into a force for improvement in the community.

"She set a precedent and taught people how to get things done," like helping start a senior center for the community, Mrs. Curran said.

Mrs. McGibbeny died Saturday from complications resulting from a stroke. She was 90.

Her grandson, Clint Burton, followed in his grandmother's example of service to their community and is the recreation leader for the Brookline Memorial Recreation Center. He credits his grandmother with influencing his own work.

"She was just driven to be busy, and thank God she did it all for this community, because this was her home," he said.

Elva Ferns McGibbeny was born Jan. 25, 1919, in Allentown. She graduated from South Hills High School, then went to work with her mother at Duquesne Brewery, where she met Daniel McGibbeny. They married in 1937 and moved to Brookline 16 years later.

While her husband worked as a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph and then the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where he retired as executive sports editor in 1979, Mrs. McGibbeny raised two children, Patricia and Daniel.

In the 1960s, she began volunteering for community programs, working at first with the Brookline Little League and the county department for mental health and retardation.

From there, her volunteer work in Brookline expanded to the community council, where she helped with projects like the renovation and expansion of Brookline Park and the creation of "Junefest" community festivals. A field in Brookline Park is named for her son, who died of cancer in 1977.

"Every aspect in the community that needed to be accomplished, Elva was a big help," said Chuck Senft, who was the Recreation Center director for 47 years.

She became well-known and respected in the community, he said.

"She was able to talk to people in a logical manner," he said. "She was able to discuss how to get things accomplished."

Following her husband's death in 1990, Mrs. McGibbeny moved to Scott, but she returned to Brookline this year to live with her grandson, Mr. Burton.

Survivors include her daughter, Patricia Burton of Brookline, three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Visitation is tomorrow from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at Frank F. DeBor Funeral Home on Brookline Boulevard. A Mass will be celebrated Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Resurrection Church, Creedmore Avenue, Brookline.

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