Gatano 'Tom' Gabriel

Gatano (Tom) Gabriel After years of battling Multiple Sclerosis and most recently, colon cancer, Tom finally found peace on October 11, 2012 at the age of 64. He was born May 9, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York to Enio and Jean (Squillante) Gabriel. He grew up in Brooklyn, loved his Yankees, his family, and his country. He served with pride in the Navy during the Vietnam War, surviving one of the worst aircraft carrier disasters in American history, the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. In 1977, hoping to find some relief for his condition, Tom and his family moved to Arizona. There he found a tremendous network of friends who quickly became his second family. Despite his struggles, Tom was always the life of the party. He enjoyed playing cards until all hours of the night, risking it all at the casinos, singing 60’s classics in his own special way, and making people laugh everywhere he went. He is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Linda, and two loving daughters and son-in-laws, Dawn (Brett) Olson and Laurie (Ike) Van Atta, and four grandchildren: Thomas, Joseph, Vyncent, and Vanessa. Tom was one of the biggest storytellers around, so in lieu of flowers, we’d ask that you’d come to his Celebration of Life, on November 17, 2012, and share a story in his memory.