John Abel

John S. Abel
Uniroyal Footwear retiree


PROSPECT — Mr. John S. Abel, age 87, died Saturday, March 26, 2011, at the Cheshire House in Waterbury. He was the husband of Vivian (McElroy) Abel.

Mr. Abel was born in Hastings, Pa., on July 28, 1923, a son of the late John and Catherine (Rubus) Abel. He was retired from the Uniroyal Inc. Footwear Division in Naugatuck where he worked as a mill operator for many years and was a communicant of St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church in Prospect. He was a United States Marine Corps veteran having served during World War II and was a former member of the Marine Corps League in Naugatuck. He was a 4th Degree Knight and a member of the Knights of Columbus Ojeda Council in Naugatuck.

Besides his wife, Mr. Abel is survived by a daughter, Johnna Chin and her husband, Jason, of Wolcott; a sister, Leona Smith of Garfield Heights, Ohio; three brothers, Clair Abel and his wife, Dorothy, of Lakewood, Ohio, George Abel and his wife, Jean, of Venice, Fla., and Ralph Abel and his wife, Dee, of Independence, Mo.; two grandsons, Jared and Jeremy Chin; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a sister, Camilla Thomas, and three brothers, Eugene Abel, Bernard Abel and Adrian Abel.

A funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2011, at 9 a.m. at St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, 4 Union City Road, Prospect. Family and friends are asked to please meet directly at the church. Burial will be in St. James Cemetery in Naugatuck. Calling hours will be Wednesday, March 30, 2011, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Buckmiller Brothers Funeral Home, 26 Waterbury Road, Route 69, Prospect.

Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Vincent DePaul Society, P.O. Box 1612, Waterbury 06721.

For more information and online condolences, please log on to www.buckmillerbrothers.com.