Gertrude Ribakove Gabel, a longtime resident of Pleasantville, NY, died July 18, 2015 in El Cerrito, CA at age 97 after a long illness. Daughter of Samuel & Rachel Ribakove, she was born and grew up in Brooklyn, NY. A graduate of Erasmus Hall HS & Brooklyn College (1938), she earned two Masters of Fine Arts (CCNY, Pratt Institute) and taught art for 25 years in NYC public schools, including C. Columbus HS in the Bronx. She was a proud UFT member and in an era of shrinking arts budgets, was adept at obtaining castoff & reclaimed items to create innovative arts & crafts materials for her students' projects. Early in her career, she worked at Camp Cejwin and other summer camps, and was a puppeteer for the NYC Parks Dept. with Peter Pan The Magic Man (father of Shari Lewis).
From 1941 to 1976 she was married to Murry Gabel (1912-1981), teacher & school administrator; the two were avid tennis players & bicyclists throughout the 1940s and 1950s. In 1951, they moved their young family from Brooklyn to then-rural N. Westchester to become charter members of Usonia Homes, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired cooperative community near Pleasantville. During her 55 years in Westchester, Gertrude enjoyed gardening and landscaping and was involved in community activities such as Girl Scouts, Hadassah and B'nai B'rith. She relished her role as community gadfly on a host of local issues¾from PTA, school board and environmental matters to participation in the Westchester County Airport Advisory Board and her longstanding opposition to airport expansion. In 2006, after having lived in the NY Metro area for 89 years, she moved to an assisted living facility in N. California to be near her three sons.
She was the beloved sister of the late Lionel Ribakove and mother of Laura Gabel, who died in March 2015. Survivors include her sister, Florence Bar-Ilan, Rehovot, Israel; sons Jonathan (Ligaya Yadao), Oakland, CA; Michael (Irene Amy Scheinbaum), El Cerrito, CA; and Matthew (Jane), Oakland, CA; grandchildren Andrew Gabel and Sophie Gabel-Scheinbaum; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services at 11 a.m. Fri., July 24, Plaza Jewish Comm. Chapel, 630 Amsterdam Ave., NYC, followed by burial at Beth David Cemetery, Elmont, NY.