Marie Gable, a longtime resident of Richland, died in the early morning hours of January 21, 2021 while in convalescent and hospice care at a facility in Pasco.   The cause of death was complications from Covid-19, which she contracted while a resident at Brookdale Assisted Living in Richland, where she had resided for the last nine years.  She was 98 years old.

     Marie was born Marie Stobel on September 19, 1922 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Her parents, Henry and Eva (Schlager) Stobel, were Volga Germans who immigrated to the United States in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s, respectively, and eventually settled in Wisconsin.   Marie spent the first five years of her life speaking German almost exclusively at home.  In the late 1920’s, her family moved to western Nebraska, where she graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1940. 

   Around that time, she met a local young man named Harold Gable.  Harold worked on his family farm and also had his own popular band of the day.  The couple married on February 1, 1942 and had been married for over 57 years at the time of Harold’s death in 1999. 

   In 1954, the by-then young thirties couple decided to make a major move and relocated to Central Washington to begin farming in and around Moses Lake.  By this time, their family included two sons, Jack and Bill.  By 1976, Harold had given up farming and had started a new career in real estate.  The boys had moved away so Harold and Marie started a new life in Richland.

   Marie at that time also started a career of her own as the dining room hostess at the Columbia Room, the restaurant at what was then the Bon Marche Department Store at Columbia Center, a job she held until 1992.  Even in her later years, regular customers approached Marie to tell her they remembered her from her time while working at the store.   Marie was also an expert seamstress and made many of her own clothes.  She also was an excellent cook and collector of cookbooks and dolls.

    Marie and Harold took several international trips and had a unique thrill in 1993 when they took a cruise down the Volga River in Russia.  Marie carried on correspondence with cousins in Russia, having never forgotten the German language that she grew up with.  Marie and Harold also spent every Christmas with their sons in southern California and, even after Harold’s passing, Marie continued to travel to California on her own well into her late 80’s. 

    She was very fragile but very tough.  She fought with great tenacity her illnesses and infirmities of her later years.  She refused to give in until Covid-19 finally took its toll.

    Marie was predeceased by her husband, her parents and all of her siblings.  She is survived by her sons, Jack, of Rancho Mirage, California, and Bill, of Laguna Beach, California, as well as many nieces and nephews.   They will miss her terribly.

    Marie’s remains will be cremated. She was the oldest living member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Richland and had been a congregant there for 45 years.  No services are planned due to the Corona virus crisis.   Remembrances may be made to bill.gable@cox.net.