Richard Albert "Dick" Gabriel

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Richard Albert (Dick) Gabriel who died peacefully on August 21, 2025, from heart failure. He was 93 years young. Richard was born April 1st, 1932, the second youngest child of Christian John Gabriel and Rebecca Irene Gabriel (nee' Whalen), both of Queens. He loved that he shared the same birthday with his older brother, John and then again with his granddaughter, Katheryn. Richard was raised in Queens (Corona), New York with his parents and four siblings – John, Jane, Kathleen, and Robert (Bobby), and many extended family members. Richard began serving his country he loved so much while still in High School. He enlisted in the New York Air National Guard serving as a Senior Aircraft Armorer and reached the rank of Technical Sargent. Richard earned his Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Queens College in New York City and attained his Master's in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University while working as a police officer/detective for New York City Police Department. Upon graduation from Columbia in 1960, Richard embarked on a very successful industrial engineering career with two major corporations: including the Nuclear Division of the Westinghouse Corporation. He traveled throughout his career to leverage and share the best practices of the most efficient and productive manufacturing plants throughout the world. Richard met his "Bride" of sixty-six years, Lucy, at Queens College while attending Advanced French Class. Together they lived in eight different states in the US and travelled extensively over the years. Upon retirement, they moved to the Sarasota-Bradenton area. Throughout his adult life, Richard was a distinguished member of the Masonic, Shriner, and El Hajj organizations and enjoyed his time spent with his Brotherhood. He received his 50-year Mason pin in 2016; and was the first (and very proud) recipient of the El Hajj National Caravan Dick Gabriel Award, established in 2023. He and Lucy enjoyed the Arts together and were active volunteers in the arts, opera, theater, and symphony communities wherever they lived. In the early days after the attack in NY on 9-11, Richard, a spry retiree of 79 who had served in the New York Air National Guard as a young man, was not a viable candidate to reenlist. Instead, he leveraged his experience as an NYPD officer and volunteered to work as a Deputy Sheriff for the Manatee County Sheriff department where he lived. He provided security for the local airport which, in turn, freed up a regular officer, while his community and the nation determined the extent of the threat the country faced. Richard is survived by his daughter, Jessica Gabriel, his son Geoffrey and his wife, Ann (neé Wall), four grandchildren, Elizabeth Ann (Alexander) O'Laughlin, Katheryn (Nicolas) Moreno, Alexandra, & William Richard, and his great granddaughter, Billy Moreno and great grandson, baby O'Laughlin, coming in February. In addition to his direct family, Richard has many extended family members in Florida and in the New York area. He is preceded in death by the love of his life Lucy, his granddaughter, Rebecca, and his parents and siblings. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Shriners Children's Hospital or any charity of your choice. Family will be receiving visitation on Wednesday, August 27th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, August 28th at 11:00 AM. Both services will be at the Toale Brothers Funeral Home at 40 North Orange Avenue, Sarasota, Florida, 34236 .