Memorial services for Viola Heliot Gabriel, 83, a survivor of the last grand-scale Utopian experiment, will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Unitarian Church of Fresno. Inurnment will be in Liberty Cemetery. Mrs. Gabriel died Monday. She was born in Sivirijoa, Mexico, and had lived in Fresno for 37 years. The Utopian colony at Topolobampo was formed by Albert Owen in 1885 and continued to grow for several years. He wanted to build the first railroad in Mexico and in the process become a millionaire. When his plan failed he fled the colony, but many of the colonists stayed on, thinking he would return. Mrs. Gabriel's family stayed a few miles south of the colony, in Sivirijoa. The family fled the country in 1910 at the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. Mrs. Gabriel graduated from Fresno State Teachers College and taught elementary school in the area for more than 30 years. She had been a trustee of the Gustine Elementary School District from 1938 to 1942. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary in Gustine.
Surviving are two daughters, Lois Sinclair of Fresno and Clariss Cassen of Oakhurst; two sons, Cedric of San Diego and Cyril of Louisiana; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. The family requests that any remembrances be made to the Poverello House.
Services are being held under the direction of Lisle Funeral Home.
Surviving are two daughters, Lois Sinclair of Fresno and Clariss Cassen of Oakhurst; two sons, Cedric of San Diego and Cyril of Louisiana; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. The family requests that any remembrances be made to the Poverello House.
Services are being held under the direction of Lisle Funeral Home.
Memorial services for Viola Heliot Gabriel, 83, a survivor of the last grand-scale Utopian experiment, will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Unitarian Church of Fresno. Inurnment will be in Liberty Cemetery. Mrs. Gabriel died Monday. She was born in Sivirijoa, Mexico, and had lived in Fresno for 37 years. The Utopian colony at Topolobampo was formed by Albert Owen in 1885 and continued to grow for several years. He wanted to build the first railroad in Mexico and in the process become a millionaire. When his plan failed he fled the colony, but many of the colonists stayed on, thinking he would return. Mrs. Gabriel's family stayed a few miles south of the colony, in Sivirijoa. The family fled the country in 1910 at the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. Mrs. Gabriel graduated from Fresno State Teachers College and taught elementary school in the area for more than 30 years. She had been a trustee of the Gustine Elementary School District from 1938 to 1942. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary in Gustine.
Surviving are two daughters, Lois Sinclair of Fresno and Clariss Cassen of Oakhurst; two sons, Cedric of San Diego and Cyril of Louisiana; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. The family requests that any remembrances be made to the Poverello House.
Services are being held under the direction of Lisle Funeral Home.
Surviving are two daughters, Lois Sinclair of Fresno and Clariss Cassen of Oakhurst; two sons, Cedric of San Diego and Cyril of Louisiana; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. The family requests that any remembrances be made to the Poverello House.
Services are being held under the direction of Lisle Funeral Home.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
