Lawrence Russell Gabriel (Larry) died on November 26, 2011 at Wooster Community Hospital.
Larry was born on April 8, 1924 in Marysville, Ohio at the home of his parents, Fred and Alma (Russell) Gabriel. He graduated from Marysville High School and enlisted in the United States 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 February, 1946.
Larry received his B.A. from the College of Wooster in 1947, where among other pursuits, he played trombone in the Marching Band. In 1949 he received an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
He and Alice Louise Hudson of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio married on February 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 January, 2010. Larry and Alice moved to Wooster in the fall of 1955 when Larry began working at Rubbermaid, at that time called the Wooster Rubber Company. 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 thirty-five years later.
He was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of 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, a board member of the Wooster YMCA and of Westview Manor, and a long time member of the League of Women Voters and a variety of other civic organizations. He supported the Wayne Center for the Arts, the Izaak Walton League, the Stark Wilderness Center, the Wayne County Historical Society, the 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 travelled to all fifty states, vacationing in many of them. As a family with two boys in the 1960?s and the early 1970?s they camped all over the country, visiting national and state parks and major cities and museums. Later they enjoyed travelling 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 predeceased by his sister, Catherine May Kipp and he is survived by his sister, Alfreda Campbell, his son Frederick (Rick) of Wayne County, his son Russell and grandsons Elijah Lincoln Gabriel and Fredrick Davis Gabriel all of Athens, Georgia, many loving nieces and nephews and a large community of extended family and friends. All will miss him dearly.
A memorial service and a reception following will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Wooster on Saturday December 17, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be sent to People to People Ministries, 454 E. Bowman St., Wooster, OH 44691 or the Viola Starzman Free Clinic, 1874 Cleveland Rd., Wooster, OH 44691.

Memorial Contributions
People to People Ministries, 454 E. Bowman St., Wooster, OH 44691 or to the Viola Starzman Free Clinic, 1874 Cleveland Rd., Wooster, OH 44691

Service
Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Wooster.

Visitation
Following the Service