Lawrence Gabriel
Lawrence Russell “Larry” Gabriel, of Wooster, died Nov. 26, 2011, at Wooster Community Hospital.
Larry was born April 8, 1924, in Marysville, at the home of his parents, Fred and Alma Gabriel. He graduated from Marysville High School and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942. He served in Hawaii, the South Pacific, and on the mainland. He was qualified as a carbine expert and earned the rank of technical sergeant prior to being honorably discharged in 1946.
Larry received his Bachelor of Arts from The College of Wooster in 1947, where among other pursuits he played trombone in the marching band. In 1949, he received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan.
He and Alice Louise Hudson were married Feb. 25, 1950. They shared 60 happy years together, rearing their family and actively participating in events and organizations in Wooster. Alice preceded him in death in 2010.
Larry and Alice moved to Wooster in 1955, when Larry began working at Rubbermaid, at that time called the Wooster Rubber Co. As he put it, “my first job was assistant office manager, assistant personnel manager, and assistant credit manager.” He continued to work in human resources-related areas until his retirement from Rubbermaid, Inc., 35 years later.
He was an active member of First Presbyterian Church, Wooster, where he was an elder, deacon, and trustee and served on many committees. He also remained an active member, as well as past president, of the Wooster Noon Lions, which he joined in 1960. He was a past president of the Akron-Canton branch of the American Management Society, past president of the Wayne County Alumni Society for The College of Wooster, an alumni board member of The College of Wooster, and a board member of the Wooster YMCA and Westview Manor. He was a longtime member of the League of Women Voters and a variety of other civic organizations. He supported the Wayne Center for the Arts, Izaak Walton League, Stark Wilderness Center, Wayne County Historical Society, Ohio Historical Society, and numerous other causes.
Alice was his love and companion for 60 years. They loved people and loved to travel. Together they traveled to all 50 states, vacationing in many of them. As a family with two boys in the 1960s and the early 1970s, they camped all over the country, visiting national and state parks and major cities and museums. Later they enjoyed traveling abroad with friends and family, journeying to India, Thailand, Japan, Russia, Eastern and Western Europe, England, Mexico, and Central and South America. Everywhere they went they returned to tell of the people they met along the way.
Larry is survived by a sister, Alfreda Campbell; sons, Frederick “Rick” of Wayne County and Russell of Athens, Ga.; grandsons, Elijah Lincoln Gabriel and Fredrick Davis Gabriel; many loving nieces and nephews; and a large community of extended family and friends. All will miss him dearly.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Catherine May Kipp.
Memorial services will be held Dec. 17, at 2 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church, Wooster.
McIntire, Davis & Greene Funeral Home, Wooster, is assisting the family with arrangements.
Contributions may be sent to People to People Ministries, 454 E. Bowman St., Wooster 44691; or the Viola Starzman Free Clinic, 1874 Cleveland Rd., Wooster 44691.
Larry was born April 8, 1924, in Marysville, at the home of his parents, Fred and Alma Gabriel. He graduated from Marysville High School and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942. He served in Hawaii, the South Pacific, and on the mainland. He was qualified as a carbine expert and earned the rank of technical sergeant prior to being honorably discharged in 1946.
Larry received his Bachelor of Arts from The College of Wooster in 1947, where among other pursuits he played trombone in the marching band. In 1949, he received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan.
He and Alice Louise Hudson were married Feb. 25, 1950. They shared 60 happy years together, rearing their family and actively participating in events and organizations in Wooster. Alice preceded him in death in 2010.
Larry and Alice moved to Wooster in 1955, when Larry began working at Rubbermaid, at that time called the Wooster Rubber Co. As he put it, “my first job was assistant office manager, assistant personnel manager, and assistant credit manager.” He continued to work in human resources-related areas until his retirement from Rubbermaid, Inc., 35 years later.
He was an active member of First Presbyterian Church, Wooster, where he was an elder, deacon, and trustee and served on many committees. He also remained an active member, as well as past president, of the Wooster Noon Lions, which he joined in 1960. He was a past president of the Akron-Canton branch of the American Management Society, past president of the Wayne County Alumni Society for The College of Wooster, an alumni board member of The College of Wooster, and a board member of the Wooster YMCA and Westview Manor. He was a longtime member of the League of Women Voters and a variety of other civic organizations. He supported the Wayne Center for the Arts, Izaak Walton League, Stark Wilderness Center, Wayne County Historical Society, Ohio Historical Society, and numerous other causes.
Alice was his love and companion for 60 years. They loved people and loved to travel. Together they traveled to all 50 states, vacationing in many of them. As a family with two boys in the 1960s and the early 1970s, they camped all over the country, visiting national and state parks and major cities and museums. Later they enjoyed traveling abroad with friends and family, journeying to India, Thailand, Japan, Russia, Eastern and Western Europe, England, Mexico, and Central and South America. Everywhere they went they returned to tell of the people they met along the way.
Larry is survived by a sister, Alfreda Campbell; sons, Frederick “Rick” of Wayne County and Russell of Athens, Ga.; grandsons, Elijah Lincoln Gabriel and Fredrick Davis Gabriel; many loving nieces and nephews; and a large community of extended family and friends. All will miss him dearly.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Catherine May Kipp.
Memorial services will be held Dec. 17, at 2 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church, Wooster.
McIntire, Davis & Greene Funeral Home, Wooster, is assisting the family with arrangements.
Contributions may be sent to People to People Ministries, 454 E. Bowman St., Wooster 44691; or the Viola Starzman Free Clinic, 1874 Cleveland Rd., Wooster 44691.
Published: November 30, 2011
