Duane M. Gable

Duane M. Gable, 96, left this world into Heaven on January 12, 2018. He was surrounded by his family and friends who ministered to him in his last hours. Duane, “Poppy” to his family, lived a humble servant’s life never ever thinking of himself first. Duane was born in Sydney, Indiana in 1921 to Curtis and Florence (Shelly) Gable. He graduated from Warsaw High School in 1939 as a good student-athlete having won the George Fisher Award in football. World War II was on the horizon as well as the beginning of his life with the love of his life, Barbara Shipley. Married in 1942, he soon headed into the Army thinking he was to be trained in coastal artillery and was eventually involved in the Aleutian Islands campaign at Dutch Harbor where the Japanese had attacked and then on to Europe in the 66th Infantry in support of General Patton’s Army as it crossed the Rhine River. Staff Sargent Gable earned the Combat Infantry Man’s Badge and an honorable discharge. Coming home, he continued in the construction business with his father, and his family began to grow. Duane was known for his clearly defined standards of work. He actually knew how to use a hammer and a saw. He worked on all of his jobs never asking someone to do what he would not do himself. Duane was a member of the American Legion, the First United Methodist Church, the Elks Club and the Warsaw Exchange Club. He was appointed by then Mayor Plank to the Park Board and the Cemetery Board. Duane was survived by three children, Pam Valentine, David Gable and Nancy Beebe, 9 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Duane’s family respected him as a man who set a high bar for what it means to be a man. A patriot, an honest man and a life well lived. There are no services planned. Arrangements are entrusted to McHatton-Sadler Funeral Chapel, Warsaw, Indiana.