Carl F. Abel

Carl F. Abel, 79, of Scottsbluff, died Saturday, December 20, 2008, at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. His memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 23, 2008, at First United Methodist Church in Scottsbluff with Pastor Nancy Tomlinson officiating. Inurnment will be at a later date in West Lawn Cemetery in Gering. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established to the First United Methodist Church and American Diabetes Association. Carl was born April 17, 1929, at Maxwell, Nebraska to George and Anna (McCoig) Abel. He grew up at Maxwell and graduated from Maxwell High School in 1947. He served in the Army National Guard from 1948 to 1956. He married Donna Keslar June 26, 1949, at North Platte, Nebraska. They moved to San Jose, California in 1956 and lived there until moving to Morgan Hill, California. He worked for Southern Pacific Railroad for two years before working in manufacturing management for IBM. They moved to Scottsbluff in 2006. He was a member of the First Untied Methodist Church at Morgan Hill, California and transferred to First Untied Methodist Church at Scottsbluff two years ago. Carl enjoyed square dancing and playing cards. Survivors include his wife, Donna Abel of Scottsbluff; daughter, Carol (Joe Meerscheidt) Abel of San Martin, California; sons, Stephen (Barbara) Abel of Kalispell, Montana and David (CamHong Pham) of Fremont, California; grandchildren, Maria, Alexander “Pat”, Cynthia, Ian and Ashley; and sister, Rozella (Fred) Huether of North Platte. Carl was preceded in death by his parents; and brothers, George Abel and Winfred McCoig.