| Robert P. Gabriel | ||
ROBERT P. GABRIEL Robert P. Gabriel, age 81, husband of Melody Dahl
Gabriel of Vero Beach, Florida, formerly of Melrose, Mass. and Hampton,
N.H., died January 7. Born in Malden, Mass., March 6, 1924, he was the son
of Ludwig and Pauline (Spreuer) Gabriel. Mr. Gabriel was a longtime
resident of Melrose and a prominent former Malden businessman. He was a
graduate of Malden High School with the Class of 1942 and a graduate of
the Massachusetts College of Optometry. He served in the US Army during WW
II with the 99th Infantry Division. During the Battle of the Bulge he was
captured and held prisoner in Germany for five months until he was
liberated by US troops at the end of the war. He was awarded the Purple
Heart and the Bronze Star. In recent years he was an active member of the
99th Army Division Association, meeting each year in a different city in
the United States with former Army and POW friends. In 1948 he joined his
father in law Theodore Bush in James Huggins and Son Inc. of Malden and
served as president of that company from 1982 until his retirement in
1988. He was also owner of Huggins Export Company and Diamond H Products.
When he moved to Hampton, N.H., he founded, along with his wife Melody
Dahl Gabriel, Seacoast PR Associates, a public relations business based in
Hampton. He retired to Vero Beach in 1989. In his retirement he worked as
a state park volunteer at the McLarty Treasure Museum in Sebastian, FL. He
is a past president of the Malden Rotary Club, past president of Pine
Banks Park and past president of the Malden Home for the Aged. He is a
past vice president and director of the Malden Chamber of Commerce; a
former corporator and trustee of the Malden Bank for Savings: a former
member of the Hampton Rotary and the Hampton Beach Area Chamber of
Commerce. He was a long time member of the First Congregational Church of
Malden and later the Highlands Congregational Church of Melrose. Most
recently he was a member of the Community Church of Vero Beach. A
Distinguished Rifleman and holder of Expert Pistol classification, he was
a member of the Melrose Fish and Game Club, a life member of the National
Rifle Association and a member of the Exeter, NH, Sportsmen's Club and the
Indian River Skeet and Trap Club of Vero Beach. Besides his wife Melody,
he is survived by three children, Joy Kubit and her husband Joseph of
Sagamore Hills, Ohio; Sally Gabriel and her husband Manny Lugo of Stuart,
Florida and Mark B. Gabriel and his wife Mimi of Holliston, Mass.; two
step daughters, Deborah Dahl and her husband Paul Barton of Stratford,
Ontario and Deanna Dahl Rodriguez and her husband Rafael of Chapel Hill,
N.C.; two step sons, Douglas A. Dahl and his wife Michele of Lexington,
Mass, and David E. Dahl and his wife Tricia of Wallingford, Ct.; and 12
grandchildren, Jennifer Kubit and her husband Mark Shappirio of
Hyattsville, MD.; Jill Kubit of Brooklyn, NY; Joshua Kubit of Cleveland,
Ohio; Peter Gabriel and his wife Sarah of Arlington, VA.; Christopher
Gabriel of Holliston, MA., Andrew and Jessica Barton of Stratford,
Ontario; Rafael, Emma and Evan Rodriguez of Chapel Hill, NC, and Colby and
Carter Dahl of Wallingfrod, CT. A celebration of his life will take place
in February in Vero Beach for family and friends. Another service and
burial will take place in July at the N. H. State Veterans Cemetery,
Boscowan, N.H. Donations in his memory may be made to the
Alzheimer/Parkinson Association of Indian River County, 2501 27th Ave,
Suite A-8, Vero Beach, Fl. 32960. Arrangements are under the Thomas S.
Lowther Funeral Home, Vero Beach.Published in the TC Palm on 1/10/2006. |
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