O. Gable

Graveside services are scheduled at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 14, at Woodbine Cemetery for longtime Artesia resident O.R. Gabel of Boerne, Texas.

Mr. Gable, 93, passed away March 6, 2013 in Boerne.

Michael Joiner of the Hermosa Church of Christ will officiate at the services. No visitation is planned.

O.R. Gable, know as Gabe Gable was born to O.R. and Virginia Gable on March 13, 1919 in Hagerman, NM, while his father was the superintendent of schools there.

His parents were pioneers of Artesia moving to the area in l903 when the town was called Miller.

The Gable Family, then consisting of three daughters, Mozelle, Lois, and Loraine, had previously established their home in Artesia at 902 Washington. Mr. Gable Sr. had come to Artesia to teach in a small Methodist College. When Gabe was two years old they moved back to this home in Artesia. Gabe spent his first three school years in Artesia, and then the family moved to Lubbock, Texas to stay until all three girls graduated from Texas Tech. Gabe, along with his parents, returned to Artesia in early 1933 in the middle of the Depression and the dust bowl days. He went thru high school here until his senior year, finishing the school year in Dallas while staying with his sister Lois.

He attended North State Teachers College in Denton, Texas where he was staff photographer for all college publications. Many of his photos were published in the Dallas Morning News and elsewhere in the area. During that time he met and later married Claudie Turner. The year was 1941

Gabe served four years in the U.S. Army Aircorps during World War II. He was attached to the 7th Photo Technical Squadron and spent two years in the ChinaBurmaIndia theater of operations, stationed in Calcutta, India.

Following WW II Gabe and Claudie, including a baby girl named Gwynda Lee, moved back to Artesia. He owned and operated Gable Studio and Camera Shop for fourteen years. Gabe was a past president of the Professional Photographers Association of New Mexico. He was a member of the First Methodist Church.

In 1960 Gabe moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado where he owned a photo studio. He was active in The Rocky Mountain Photographers Association and was the official photographer for the Miss Colorado Pageant.

After his retirement, he returned to Artesia, and in 1997 O.R. Gable and Claudie Turner Mermis were remarried. They continued to make Artesia their home until 2009 when they relocated to Boerne, Texas to be near their daughter and her husband.

Survivors: daughter, Gwynn Biel and husband Bill, of Dallas, Texas and one granddaughter, Amanda Biel. Numerous nieces and nephews.