50 years in the making -- Part 4, time passes

     The children grew up and married and had children, two of which had children of their own. Robert and I grew, too --- older. I have photos of everyone, but I don't have nearly enough scanned into the computer. I'll post a few of what I can find.

Much of the family

     Robert worked as a diesel mechanic after a year at Pampa, Texas, where he had a fuel injection lab. He spent eleven years as a mechanic and then five years in the oil fields as a hot oil unit operator and tanker driver. Finally his health became so bad he couldn't do the heavy work. One memory we all have is of him pulling his truck or hot oil unit up to the baseball field, hopping out, coaching his baseball team, jumping back in the truck, and going back to work.

     I was a stay-at-home mother, with a few periods of working in the business world, until I returned to college and became a teacher. I taught for nearly thirty years before retiring in 2001. Then came my writing and publishing career, which is still on-going.

Granny with Katie

Kurtis with PaPa holding Haylee

     Our first grandchild, Macayla, joined the family 29 years ago, first child for Rene and for J.R. Barnett. Fifteen months later, they had Keri. Macayla and Keri are both married (Macayla to David Romines and Keri to Jarrod Smith) and have children. Maycayla's oldest is Kurtis and youngest is Haylee Rose. In between is Ethan. Keri has two daughters, Katie and Emma.

Kurtis, Macayla, Rene

     Rene's next two children (with unnamed) are Faris Alkordi and Yasmeen Alkordi. Both are young adults now. Rene's youngest is Aiden (Vince Farabaugh her husband and Aiden's father), who is in kindergarten.

Macayla holding Meena, Faris, Keri holding Ryan

     Bob brought us two more granddaughters when he and Brenda married. We felt they were our granddaughters from the beginning: Elizabeth and Jennifer, who is married to Travis Berka.

     Randy, our youngest living child, married Janelle Miller, and gave us another daughter. They, in turn, gave us three grandsons: Ryan, a student at the University of Tulsa; Colby, a junior at Oklahoma Christian Schools; and Shane, a freshman at OCS.

Robert, Janelle, Colby, Ryan, Randy holding Shane, me

     I can't get photos to load or move on this site; otherwise, I would add more. Therefore I leave readers with the few that cooperated at all.

Katie and Emma several years ago

Brenda and Bob

To be continued ...

    

50 years in the making -- Part 2, the wedding

A snapshot taken after the reception

     Robert and I set our wedding date for May 15, 1962, on my parents 20th anniversary, but Robert's best friend, Frank McCubbin, was being sent to Germany by the Army. Therefore, for Frank to be the best man, we moved the date to February 18. Yes, from November 7 until February 18 wasn't a long time, and we were told our marriage wouldn't last six months. Whew, what a long six months.

     My cousin Barbara Gilbert (later to become Barbara Harris) acted as maid of honor. Robert's sister Pat was a bride's maid and his other sisters, Peggy and Edna, were candle lighters. My sister Diana Gilbert was junior bride's maid. Nannette Harrin and her twin brother Nathan were flower girl and ring bearer.

     The only picture showing Robert's attendants is a splotchy snapshot.

Far right, Diana Gilbert, Pat Zabel (now Powers), Nannette Herrin in front, Barbara Gilbert, bride and groom, Frank McCubbin, Daivd Powers, and Nathan Herrin

     Robert's attendants included Frank as best man and David Powers as groomsman. Richard Hill and Howard Gilbert were ushers.

My parents, Raymond and Dolly Gilbert, us, and Robert's parents, Ed and Lucy Zabel

     We married in the First Church of the Nazarene, Midwest City, Oklahoma. The church no longer exists. The minister who performed the ceremony, Glen Golden, ended up divorced, but we've survived.

     We didn't have many pictures during the wedding because the photographer's cameras didn't work, all three didn't work.  In fact, Robert and I had to go to the photographer's studio to get some photographs of us together -- over seven months after the wedding.

     The organist had a flat on the way to the church, but rather than call for help, she waited until her parents picked her up on their way to the church, thirty minutes after music was needed for ushers to seat guests.

     The candle holders didn't get decorated. A sister-in-law to be and her boyfriend played on the organ after people began to enter the church, her in her bare feet. My mother had been ill for about two weeks and wasn't doing well. Robert left the marriage license in the glove compartment of his car, locked in my parent's garage. Frank rushed him out to pick it up.

     All that mini-disasters are funny now, but I was ready to cry before the wedding began.

Photograph taken in studio nearly eight months after the wedding

To be continued ...

50 years in the making -- Part 1, the beginning

    The second child of Ed and Lucy Zabel was born in a farm house south of Hooker, Oklahoma, March 7, 1939.

     In 1958, Robert Lee Zabel graduated from Adams High School in the Oklahoma Panhandle. He attended Oklahoma State Tech, majoring in farm machinery mechanics. When he tore up his right hand in a racing accident, he dropped out until after he married Vivian Gilbert. Then he returned to Oklahoma State Tech and graduated as a diesel injection specialist.










     Sgt. Raymond and his wife Dolly (Lyles) Gilbert gave birth to Vivian Ellouise July 28, 1943, Randolph AFB, Texas.

     Vivian graduated from Limestone High School, Limestone Maine. Afterwards she began college at Bethany Nazarene College (now Southern Nazarene University), where she met a classmates brother, Robert Zabel.





     When Vivian rode with Robert's sister and her boyfriend to the Oklahoma City Symphony (class assignment), the couple met for the first time since Robert had stopped by to visit his sister on his way to Oregon. The date? November 7, 1961.


To be continued ...