Discount chain owner leaves silent legacy
Retailing, education and community service characterized a local businessman who passed away last week. James Gabriel, president of the well-known Gabriel Brothers Inc. discount chain, has left a silent legacy to his altruism and interests, family and friends said.
Gabriel, 75, died on Aug. 4.
A thesis short of his doctorate, Gabriel held master’s and bachelor’s degrees from several area universities. Yet, he is best known among the community for his entrepreneurship.
“We have always tried to figure out’ why he shifted from education to retailing, his son, Paul, said.
“Retail was always in his blood, I guess. He was a man who had a lot of different interests. He never lost his love of education. He had a tremendous amount of talent in various areas,’ he added.
William Kania, a longtime friend and accountant for the company, said he was friends with Gabriel since 1955 and taught with him at Waynesburg College.
Calling Gabriel “one of the most compassionate, generous guys,” Kania said Gabriel donated money to local hospitals, the YMCA and to various scholarships.
He said Gabriel and his brother Arthur built Gabriel Brothers into a chain of 104 stores in 11 states, with annual sales of about $400 million – all from a single store in Morgantown, W.Va.
“He devoted a great deal to education and scholarship. He was really devoted to his family. And on top of that, he was a great entrepreneur,’ Kania said. “We had been their accountants for 50 years. It was a tremendous success story for Uniontown and Morgantown. There are 3,000 people (working for the company) and a great number of them came from this area. Their executives and supervisors are people who are 20-to-25-year veterans, and a great number of them are from this area.
“I met with him every Saturday. I will miss his companionship.’
Kania shed some light on Gabriel’s move from educator (he taught at Waynesburg College, Penn State Fayette and West Virginia University early in his career) to businessman, saying it was a logical step dictated by circumstances.
“I believe he always wanted to be in retail. A couple of things happened. He and Art started the store in Morgantown. Jim used his income from teaching to support himself while the store was getting established. But then Art was drafted. So Jim had to spend more time in the Morgantown store. That’s what made it convenient for him to teach at WVU. When Art got out, that’s when they started their expansion.’
According to Lori Paletta-Davis, general counsel and chief in-house attorney for the company, Gabriel earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Kent State University, a master’s in political science from WVU, and did post-graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh. He was a Ford Foundation fellow at Pitt, was the outstanding graduating senior and a member of the honorary fraternity Pi Sigma Alpha at Kent State, and earned a variety of political science fellowships while at WVU. Also, Gabriel was honorably discharged after serving three years in the Navy.
“He remained passionate about education throughout his life. He read about things of varying types to the end of his life. He never really abandoned education,” Paletta-Davis said. “What he couldn’t pass up was what was in his blood and his family background. He and his brother Art, having been raised in that kind of family home, were true entrepreneurs. To fulfill that aspect, they started the business. …He was always promoting people and learning. He was an entrepreneur and a merchant.
Paletta-Davis noted that Gabriel was a brilliant businessman and was instrumental in the establishment of the Rugged Wearhouse chain of stores in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
She also talked about the generosity of Gabriel and his family, noting that many of their philanthropic and charitable endeavors went unheralded because the family is private.
“It is almost impossible to list all the many, many charitable and community works in which he was involved. He did so many things that I don’t think anybody could keep up with him,’ said Paletta-Davis, who added that she has worked with the company for nearly 14 years. “They did not put a byline on the giving.
“What stands out to me is that Jim, first and foremost, is a family man, and secondly, he was about people. He made all of us who were part of his business part of his family. He cared deeply about his people and we all are part of his family,” she added.
In a newspaper interview in 1988, the Gabriels talked about their heritage. Z.G. Gabriel started the business in the 1920s. They called his success a “Horatio Alger-type story.
“He was an immigrant. He had six children, and all of them are college graduates. He had no (formal) education. He didn’t do too badly,’ Jim Gabriel had said.
However, the accomplishment that probably made Jim Gabriel most proud, according to Arthur, his brother and business partner, was his family, “because they are all extremely successful and they have carried on with honor and pride. Those were the things he lived by.
“Jim was a very charitable person, but he was very low key. He really cared for his people, his management people. He cared for the community and was very involved with organizations in Fayette County and the West Virginia area. He will be greatly missed by both his management staff and his family.’
Surviving Gabriel are his wife, Tammer (Zaidan) Gabriel; children: Ann Gabriel, Gilbert and Valerie Gabriel, Paul and Reta Gabriel, John and Paula Gabriel and Catherine and Robert Cummings; grandchildren, James G. Gabriel, Lila A. Gabriel, John Gabriel Jr., Natalie A. Gabriel, Julia Gabriel, Paul Gabriel Jr., Joseph Cummings, Jacob Cummings, Gabrielle Cummings and Cara Cummings; brothers: Arthur, Eli and Peter Gabriel; sisters: Ruby Gabriel Bonney and Paulette Gabriel; an aunt, Dorothy George; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He established a scholarship fund to which memorial donations may be made: James R. Gabriel Scholarship Fund at Centra Bank, Post Office Box 656, Morgantown, W.Va. 26507.
Entombment was in Chapel of Memories Mausoleum at Sylvan Heights Cemetery.
The family asked that personal written tributes be sent to www.mem.com.