Edward A. "Scotty" Gabriel

Edward A. “Scotty” Gabriel, 96, our beloved patriarch, died on Thursday morning March 11, 2021, after a short illness.  Born in Lawrence on April 29, 1924, Scotty was the son of the late William Mansour and Sadie (Hamman) Gabriel.

Dad was raised along with his eight brothers and sisters in the Lebanese Plains neighborhood of Lawrence and was a devoted parishioner of Saint Anthony Maronite Church where he met his gang of friends which stayed together for almost an entire century. He was a graduate of the Tarbox School and Lawrence High School Class of 1942. After graduation, he proudly enlisted in the United States Navy serving in World War 2 as a Radar Man in the Pacific theater on the Destroyer USS Colahan #658 and Tug ATR 84. Dad saw action in the Battles of Guam and Saipan and was honorably discharged in 1945.

It was on the Plains that Scotty met his Elm Street neighbor, May, when they were both in grade school. His best friend, Bruno, forced Scotty to ask May out so Bruno could date her older sister, Rosie. A love blossomed between them and they were married on January 3, 1945, while Scotty was home on Christmas leave from the South Pacific. Of course, May had everything planned; Scotty just needed to go to City Hall to get the license.  Scotty and May were blessed with 74 years of marriage together with their sons, their five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren gathered around them passing on their belief in hard work, their deep Maronite faith and lots of family.

Jido started his produce career at the age of 12 working at Ramey’s Market and later Brockelmans on Essex Street and Stop & Shop.  He later joined his in-laws at the family business, Economy Cleaners, where he managed the delivery route for North Lawrence and Methuen. After 30 years at the Cleaners, Scotty went to work with his sons in their newly established Gabe’s 4D Donuts in Salisbury and Lawrence where he worked overnight as a donut maker and baker and then early mornings as cook where his hand-cut crullers, coffee rolls and pancakes were his specialty. He retired in 2008 at the age of 84.

Ed was predeceased by his brothers, Louis Gabriel, James Gabriel, Thomas "Gabby" Gabriel and his wife, Clara, Phillip Gabriel and William Gabriel; as well as his sisters, Ann Gabriel, Lillian Gabriel and Edith Gabriel.

In the 1980s Scotty and May relocated to Salem to live alongside their children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces. JidJid quietly provided love and support for all and was blessed to help raise his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, pass on his passion for 45s, baseball and the Boston Red Sox, make them his delicious pancake breakfasts and be involved daily in their lives.

Scotty was predeceased by his wife of 74 years, May (Touma) Gabriel, his daughter-in-law, Dorothy Gabriel, with whom he shared his home, and his granddaughter-in-law, Laura Gabriel. He is survived by his devoted sons, Kenneth E. Gabriel and his wife, Linda, and Edward J. Gabriel and his wife, Debra. His loving grandchildren, Attorney Scot Edward Gabriel, Dawn Marie Aboelsaad and her husband, Youssef, Dr. Kenneth Michael Gabriel and his wife, Jamie, Elizabeth M. Frias and her husband Joshua, and Stacy A. Gabriel and her partner, Jesse Hunnefeld. Along with his nine great-grandchildren, Logan Edward, William and Olivia Gabriel, Paige, Alyson and Norah Frias, Youssef and Gabriel Aboelsaad and Vivian Gabriel Hunnefeld.

Scotty is also survived by his dear brother-in-law, Alfred Roderigues and sister-in-law, Phyllis Touma and his cousins, Kathleen Gabriel, Gloria Assad and Delores Gabriel and many devoted nieces and nephews.

A funeral liturgy will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at 10:30 a.m., at St. Anthony Maronite Church located at 145 Amesbury Street, Lawrence, MA. Burial will follow at St. Anthony Maronite Cemetery, North Lowell Street, Methuen, MA. Relatives and friends are invited to attend visiting hours on Monday, March 15, 2021, from 4:00 to 7:00 at St. Anthony Maronite Church. In lieu of flowers, donations in Scotty’s memory can be made to St. Anthony Maronite Church.