Birth date: Dec 13, 1916 Death date: Jan 15, 2013
Raymond A. Zabel, 96, of Bloomington, IL, formerly of Decatur, IL, died peacefully Jan 15, 2013 at Meadows Mennonite Retirement Community, with his family by his side. Raymond was born December 13, 1916 in Nemaha County, NE, the 5 Read Obituary
Thanks, Fred. You described our father very well! We miss him.
To the family of Ray Zabel. I worked with Ray at the Herald & Review from the time I started in June, 1963 until his retirement. Ray was always a dedicated linotype operator and also could set advertisements in all medal, upside down and backwards. He was very talented. Ray was the most loyal printer and worker that I had ever met. Ray easily made the transition from hot metal to computers in the late 1970s. He had a regiment at work and he followed it to the letter.He was always calm and cool and look the same from the beginning of the work day to the end. He always was well dressed and very quite. He was certainly a gentleman to everyone.I was Secretary-Treasurer of the printers union for over nine years and Ray was a supporter of his fellow workers and employer. I did not realize that Ray was awarded Medals during WWII, he never spoke about it and certainly never looked old enough to me to be in WWII.I am proud to have known such a wonderful person and an outstanding human being that you could always look upto. RIP Ray, we are a sad for your passing. God bless you.
Dear Fran, Ellen and Lori, You have my sympathy and prayers on the loss of your special husband and father. I have very many special memories of all the times I spent at your house while I was growing up. Ray was always so kind to me. I will always be grateful to him and your family with sharing your faith with me and taking me to church every Sunday. Dee Ann said it all so well. May God bless and comfort all of you.Love and prayers,Mary Hodgson Comerford
Dear family,We wanted to send you our thoughts of Ray and our deepest sympathy for your loss. The obituary was wonderful and even though we knew Ray for over 50 years we learned a lot about his brave and admirable life. We always knew him to be the kind and gentle neighbor that you described so well in his obit. Fran and Ray were dear and trusted friends and we can look back on a lot of good times and some that were not so good, like the tornado!!! We remember our neighborhood "weiner roasts" and potlucks that were a lot of fun.We were so happy to read that Ray got to go on one of the Honor Flights. What a wonderful honor that was. He gave a lot to his country. It sounds like he was very happy and content these last years and that is a blessing to you all. Mom (Marge) sends her love and so do we three girls. We lost our Dad 3 years ago and understand the pain in your hearts. Death ends a life but not a relationship and you can be so proud of Ray and the loving husband, father, grandfather and brother that he was.Thinking of you,Dee Ann Gambrel HopperMarge GambrelJanet ShepherdMarsha Wells
I am so sorry for your loss. I remember when your Mom and Dad came to Estes Park and we were all doing crossword puzzles. I would say your Dad's encyclopedic knowledge went further than just sports! Becky, Jim and Kate
Thank you, Jim. I'm her daughter, Lori. I remember Mom talking about you! I think she was the only woman engineering technician in the department at the time, and she really appreciated your friendship and support. She suffers from memory loss now, but I will pass along your kind words.
Fran, my condolences to you and your family on the passing of your husband. You may not remember me. We sat beside each at Caterpillar when you were first hired in the seventies. I already knew most of Raymondâ??s obit from having listened to you talk lovingly about him and your family. Those stories and you had a positive effect on my life. Jim Foster
Lit a candle in memory of Raymond Zabel
