Jay C Stabler

Jay Calvin Stabler, age 82, was welcomed into the arms of Jesus on March 1, 2020. He passed away peacefully, after a year and a half of suffering from Dementia and recently a stroke. He was preceded in death by his mother, Mable Patranella; father, John Calvin Stabler; stepfather Tony Patranella; brother, Lonnie Stabler; wife, Jan Stabler; Dana’s mother, Carolyn Watts Boyd. He is survived by his daughter, Dana and husband Dennis Moon; his granddaughter, Taylor and husband Carlos Mendez; his grandson, Parker; his granddaughter, Abigail; his brother, Tony and wife Vickie Patranella; his sister-in-law, Susan and husband Greg Goodwin, and three nieces and two nephews.

Jay was born in Bryan, TX, graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in 1956; Attended Allen Academy, class of 1960; and attended 2 years of college at University of Houston with a focus on Surveying Technology. He spent some time also in the Army Reserve. He settled in Houston, TX and started his career in 1962 at Houston Lighting & Power Company and worked 30 years in field of Surveying and Mapping. He received his Texas Board of Registered Professional Land Surveyor license and was a member of the Texas Surveyors Association. Jay retired from HL&P in 1992.

Jay was a devoted husband and father. He married his first love Carolyn Watts (Dana’s Mother) in January 1964, and later divorced in November of 1970. Jay then married the love of his life, Jan Gunn, on August 12, 1972. Together they built a home of warmth and happiness. Jay loved being a father, as he devoted a great deal of time to his daughter; hosting countless slumber parties, birthday parties, attending all of her school events, high school tennis matches. He was there to cheer and coach her on in everything she did, even on into adulthood. This continued into his grandchildren’s lives… not missing a soccer game, cheerleading event, baseball game, football game, girl scouts, dance recital, or a swim meet. He was there for all of them, with his camera and video recorder. Sometimes he’d be so excited about what was going on the field, stage or in pool, that he forgot he had the camera running and there would be a lot of filming of the crowd or ground. He adored his grandchildren and was so proud of each of them. He was there every Christmas morning early, waiting in the driveway of their house to be able to catch their first glimpse of their faces when they saw their gifts. He did much of the same with his nieces and nephews and their kids later; attending as many things as he could, and of course capturing it on film.

Jay was a blessing to everyone around him. He had such a giving heart and certainly loved the Lord. He served tirelessly with his wife, Jan, working with the children at Sugar Creek Baptist Church and in their AWANAs program for several years. He also served in the children’s department at Kingsland Baptist Church for many years, teaching Sunday School for Kindergarten children. Serving in this capacity was definitely his calling. He loved all of the children and they loved him back, commonly calling him Mr. Jay. He was a big kid himself, with a heart of gold. He served in the AWANAs program at Kingsland for several years. He also served in Vacation Bible School every summer, specifically in the Recreation time, setting up and organizing the games the children would play. He not only took his grandchildren with him, he picked up tons of other kids in the neighborhood and transported them to and from VBS each day.

Jay’s other loves were fishing and running. He organized many deep sea fishing trips, bringing home loads of Red Snapper, for fish fries. It didn’t matter if he was on a lake, the ocean, or the pond at his Mother’s farm in Snook, TX, he loved to fish. In his younger years he didn’t always exercise much, but one day someone told him he would never be able to complete a marathon. That’s all they needed to tell him, because next thing he did was started training in his 50s for his first marathon. He never looked back after that. He loved the thrill and the rush that it gave him to complete races. He met so many wonderful people in his running clubs at Memorial Park, Sugarland, and Katy. He ran in many marathons locally and around the country. His favorite was always the Houston Marathon. If he wasn’t running a race on the weekend, he was training for one. He liked to enter his daughter and grandkids into races with him. Then he ventured into Triathlons, after the marathon days. He was in awesome shape and many people thought he was much younger than he was. He loved to flash his AARP card for discounts, just so they would say “you’re not that old, are you?” So true.

Jay, also known as Papa Jay, by is grandkids, was so very loved by his Family and friends. He will be missed dearly by all who knew him.

The Moon and Stabler families would like to give a special thanks to Vantage Hospice nurses and staff that took great care of him over the last several months and in his final days. A special thanks also to the staff and caregivers at Legacy at Falcon Point Memory Care facility for caring for him over the last year.

A visitation will be held from 5:00 – 8:00 pm on Friday, March 6, 2020 at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX. 77079. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 AM, Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Kingsland Baptist Church, 20555 Kingsland Blvd., Katy, TX 77450. Followed by a graveside service at Memorial Oaks Cemetery, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX. 77079.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Jay’s honor may be given to Kingsland Baptist Church VBS Missions Fund. His love for serving the children, in Sunday School, AWANAs, and VBS was so apparent.