Obituary of Sara Reynolds Gabriel

Sara was born May 25, 1920, in Columbia, SC, to cabinet maker John Reynolds and homemaker Georgia Hite. The fifth of six children, she grew up in West Palm Beach, FL, in a home built by her father. Sara told stories of their lives during the Great Depression—feeding the family with chickens raised by her mom and fish and game caught by her big brother Bo; bringing food to the men who rode the trains, looking for work. She remembered the devastating 1935 hurricane that killed hundreds of people in the nearby Everglades. Her house was left standing, and she remembered how her father salvaged pecky cypress boards from a demolished hotel to panel their house with wood that could stand up to storms.

Sara graduated from Palm Beach High School in 1938. With the help of a scholarship provided by the First Baptist Church—which she thought of as the family's second horn    she earned a two-year degree from Palm Beach Junior College. With war looming, she took a job with Bell South as switchboard operator in Starke, FI, serving Camp Blanding. She handled thousands of calls for soldiers saying goodbye to their families when they were suddenly deployed after the December 7th bombing of Pearl Harbor. Sara was promoted to supervisor and transferred to New York City where she lived with her sister Deris and brother-in-law Gil. For a few months she was assigned to a secretive, highly secure building in Manhahan where, as she learned much later, work was underway on the atomic bomb.

Among the service men returning home in 1945 was Frank Gabriel, who met Sara at a club and immediately told a friend, "That's the girl I'm going to marry.” Sara and Frank married in 1947, moved to the South Shore of Long Island, and raised four children— Mara, Glen, Paul, and Michael. Frank was an engineer for Sperry in Lake Success and worked on guidance systems for the Apollo space program. And Sara, always capable and full of energy, held a variety of parttime jobs—at a bakery, a meat packaging company, and the local post office. As a marketing researcher, she surveyed public opinion on a planned nuclear power plant at Indian Head, and documented New York hospital physicians' experience with new drug therapies.
 
Sara retired to West Palm Beach to enjoy life with her sister Deris and sister-in-law Mildred. Several years later, she moved to Chapel Hill, NC, where Mara, Paul, Michael, and their families had settled. She visited New York often and hosted Glen and his family, who lived on Long Island. In her 70s and 80s, Sara shared her time and stories with eight beloved grandchildren: Chris, Lori, John, Amanda, Caroline, Paige, Elise, and Sophie. She remained active, earning a real estate license and working as an elder home companion. She served as guardian ad litem and volunteered for the crisis hotline and homeless shelter. In her 90s she enjoyed the blessing of four great- grandchildren: Ethan, Katey, Wesley, and Maddie.

Sara celebrated her 100th birthday during the Covid pandemic with an outdoor family gathering (masked!) and a neighborhood parade with singing and banners. She remained at home until 2023, and died peacefully surrounded by family on December 13, 2024, at the age of 104. Her family is thankful for her wisdom and generous heart, and she will live in our memories and stories. We wish to thank all of her friends who made her life so rich, and all of the caretakers who brightened her last days with kindness and smiles Sara was a blessing to everyone who knew her.

Arrangements are in the care of Walker’s Funeral Homes in Chapel Hill, NC. Online condolences may be shared at https://www.walkersfuneralservice.com.