James Brashear Gabrielson
May 2, 1917 — March 25, 2014
James Brashear Gabrielson, who was born on May 2, 1917 and died on March 25, 2014, was an amazing man. From his early days as a preacher's kid roaming a much less developed Los Angeles area on his bicycle with his brother to his last years as not only a raconteur, but also as someone truly interested in his fellow human beings and all of their diverse experiences, he lived life to the fullest.
As a family man he was devoted to both his first wife, Gena, who he lost to cancer in 1998, but also to his second wife, LaDonna, who survives him. He loved not only his own children, Kristin and Jan, and then his step children, LeeAnn, Pam, and Adrienne, he also loved all of the children he encountered in his work as a truant officer and in his life in general. He loved kids who didn't have father figures who could relate to them, and he loved kids who just needed a little extra help sorting out the world as teenagers and young adults.
After his work during WWII as a Naval Reserve Officer radio operator for Pan Am as they flew supplies into the South Pacific, he returned to civilian life and helped support his young family as a bank manager and a construction worker. He finished his college work at USC then began working for the Montebello Unified School District in their Department of Child Welfare and Attendance.
And thus he began the pivotal work of his professional life, which was simply an extension of the kinds of attitudes he exemplified in his personal life, protecting, nurturing, supporting, and just plain old saving kids who might have otherwise been lost to modern day life's trials and tribulations.
Meanwhile, as if this weren't enough to keep him busy, his family and that of his sister in law and brother in law, moved to what was then rural South San Gabriel where he and his brother in law, Gordon Smith, began building houses on the property they had all bought together in order to give their children a taste of what it was like to grow up on a farm, which his wife Gena and her sister, Edith, had actually done in Carthage, Illinois.
The houses continued for years to be works in progress and an adventure for the kids in the families. Both he and the rest of the family learned to till soil, run the tractor, turn the compost, grow vegetables, and raise animals for fun and food. His grown children, now in their late 60s and early 70s, can still barely eat commercially raised produce.
In spite of spending all day at work and spending evenings building a house and taking care of the farm, there was time in the summer for the occasional softball game in the lower pasture. After the games and in order to entertain his own and the neighbor kids, he would call out where he was going to place the ball, throw it into the air and give it a whack. If it was anywhere near his goal, the kids would all be impressed by his prowess.
As the years rolled on and work on the farm and house began to let up a little, he began to write, first largely autobiographical short stories, and then more ambitious work, often based on his experiences in the schools with troubled and needy children. One of his books, "The Hooky Cop", was seriously considered for a TV series starring Greg Morris as a truant officer. Another of his books, "Seven Days of Panic", was based on the heart-rending experiences of a young man he had known who had gotten mixed up with a bad crowd, murdered a man, and was sent to prison. His last complete work was about his and his family's experiences of starting and living on the farm thirteen miles from downtown Los Angeles, aptly titled "Our City Farm".
Much of his writing was done on trips in the recreational vehicles he and his wives owned as they traveled the side roads of the West Coast, often with his grandchildren.
It was difficult for Jim to leave this world where he had enjoyed so much hard work and success. After many a party with the friends and relatives who visited him during his last weeks, he died of cancer of the bile duct.
A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 2:00 pm at the Montebello United Methodist Church, 1220 W. Whittier Bl., Montebello, Ca. Please check back for more obituary information to be posted.
Jim is survived by his loving wife, LaDonna Bon of Montebello, his son, Jan Chapman Gabrielson of Los Angeles and his daughter, Kristin Claire Gabrielson of Seattle, WA. He also leaves 4 grandchildren, Gabriel (Chieni) Webster of Seattle, WA., Ian (Magda) Webster of New York, Neil (Shannon) Gabrielson of Monterey, Ca. and Troy Gabrielson of Los Angeles, and 2 great granddaughters, Anja and Reiya Webster of Seattle, WA.
Condolences may be sent to the family through our web site.
As a family man he was devoted to both his first wife, Gena, who he lost to cancer in 1998, but also to his second wife, LaDonna, who survives him. He loved not only his own children, Kristin and Jan, and then his step children, LeeAnn, Pam, and Adrienne, he also loved all of the children he encountered in his work as a truant officer and in his life in general. He loved kids who didn't have father figures who could relate to them, and he loved kids who just needed a little extra help sorting out the world as teenagers and young adults.
After his work during WWII as a Naval Reserve Officer radio operator for Pan Am as they flew supplies into the South Pacific, he returned to civilian life and helped support his young family as a bank manager and a construction worker. He finished his college work at USC then began working for the Montebello Unified School District in their Department of Child Welfare and Attendance.
And thus he began the pivotal work of his professional life, which was simply an extension of the kinds of attitudes he exemplified in his personal life, protecting, nurturing, supporting, and just plain old saving kids who might have otherwise been lost to modern day life's trials and tribulations.
Meanwhile, as if this weren't enough to keep him busy, his family and that of his sister in law and brother in law, moved to what was then rural South San Gabriel where he and his brother in law, Gordon Smith, began building houses on the property they had all bought together in order to give their children a taste of what it was like to grow up on a farm, which his wife Gena and her sister, Edith, had actually done in Carthage, Illinois.
The houses continued for years to be works in progress and an adventure for the kids in the families. Both he and the rest of the family learned to till soil, run the tractor, turn the compost, grow vegetables, and raise animals for fun and food. His grown children, now in their late 60s and early 70s, can still barely eat commercially raised produce.
In spite of spending all day at work and spending evenings building a house and taking care of the farm, there was time in the summer for the occasional softball game in the lower pasture. After the games and in order to entertain his own and the neighbor kids, he would call out where he was going to place the ball, throw it into the air and give it a whack. If it was anywhere near his goal, the kids would all be impressed by his prowess.
As the years rolled on and work on the farm and house began to let up a little, he began to write, first largely autobiographical short stories, and then more ambitious work, often based on his experiences in the schools with troubled and needy children. One of his books, "The Hooky Cop", was seriously considered for a TV series starring Greg Morris as a truant officer. Another of his books, "Seven Days of Panic", was based on the heart-rending experiences of a young man he had known who had gotten mixed up with a bad crowd, murdered a man, and was sent to prison. His last complete work was about his and his family's experiences of starting and living on the farm thirteen miles from downtown Los Angeles, aptly titled "Our City Farm".
Much of his writing was done on trips in the recreational vehicles he and his wives owned as they traveled the side roads of the West Coast, often with his grandchildren.
It was difficult for Jim to leave this world where he had enjoyed so much hard work and success. After many a party with the friends and relatives who visited him during his last weeks, he died of cancer of the bile duct.
A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 2:00 pm at the Montebello United Methodist Church, 1220 W. Whittier Bl., Montebello, Ca. Please check back for more obituary information to be posted.
Jim is survived by his loving wife, LaDonna Bon of Montebello, his son, Jan Chapman Gabrielson of Los Angeles and his daughter, Kristin Claire Gabrielson of Seattle, WA. He also leaves 4 grandchildren, Gabriel (Chieni) Webster of Seattle, WA., Ian (Magda) Webster of New York, Neil (Shannon) Gabrielson of Monterey, Ca. and Troy Gabrielson of Los Angeles, and 2 great granddaughters, Anja and Reiya Webster of Seattle, WA.
Condolences may be sent to the family through our web site.
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