Earl Abel Jr., ex-manager of family eatery, dies at 72
Longtime restaurateur Earl Abel Jr., who managed his family's landmark restaurant on Broadway for 19 years, died Friday at University Hospital. He was 72.
Abel was the son of restaurant founder Earl Abel, who opened an eatery on North Main Street during the Depression, when the job market for his musician's skills dried up. The restaurant now is located at Broadway and Hildebrand and is owned by Jerry Abel, another of the founder's sons.
Earl Abel Jr. spent much of his life working in the restaurant, long a gathering spot for business and community leaders. He was the manager from 1973 until 1992.
Abel was at the restaurant the day former U.S. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez threw his famous punch at a critic who'd called Gonzalez a communist.
Abel enjoyed the notoriety the altercation bestowed upon the restaurant, said his wife, Jean.
"Afterwards, people were coming in and saying 'Where did he sit that day?'" Abel's wife recalled. "Earl said he thought about charging people who used the chair."
Abel was a former president of the San Antonio Restaurant Association and earned its Outstanding Restaurateur award in 1970. He also loved San Antonio and, with his wife, wrote a song about the city recorded in 1988.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1948 and was in the Navy Reserves from 1950 to 1952.
Abel will be remembered as a kind and generous man who loved his family and treated his employees like family, his wife said.
"He didn't have a mean bone in his body," she said. "He was just a dear, sweet man, and everybody loved him. He never said a mean word about anyone."
Besides his wife, survivors include two sons, Robert Earl Abel of San Antonio and Garry Abel of Philadelphia; his mother, Lillian Abel of Carpinteria, Calif.; a sister, Jane Kuperstock of Boca Raton, Fla.; his half brother, Jerry Abel of San Antonio, and two grandchildren.
Visitation will be tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 at Sunset Funeral Home, 1701 Austin Highway. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. Matthews United Methodist Church, 2738 Bitters Road. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park.
Memorial donations are requested for St. Matthews for the Wesley Community Center and Waco Home for Children Outreach Ministry.
March 22, 1999
San Antonio Express-News
Page: 14A
Longtime restaurateur Earl Abel Jr., who managed his family's landmark restaurant on Broadway for 19 years, died Friday at University Hospital. He was 72.
Abel was the son of restaurant founder Earl Abel, who opened an eatery on North Main Street during the Depression, when the job market for his musician's skills dried up. The restaurant now is located at Broadway and Hildebrand and is owned by Jerry Abel, another of the founder's sons.
Earl Abel Jr. spent much of his life working in the restaurant, long a gathering spot for business and community leaders. He was the manager from 1973 until 1992.
Abel was at the restaurant the day former U.S. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez threw his famous punch at a critic who'd called Gonzalez a communist.
Abel enjoyed the notoriety the altercation bestowed upon the restaurant, said his wife, Jean.
"Afterwards, people were coming in and saying 'Where did he sit that day?'" Abel's wife recalled. "Earl said he thought about charging people who used the chair."
Abel was a former president of the San Antonio Restaurant Association and earned its Outstanding Restaurateur award in 1970. He also loved San Antonio and, with his wife, wrote a song about the city recorded in 1988.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1948 and was in the Navy Reserves from 1950 to 1952.
Abel will be remembered as a kind and generous man who loved his family and treated his employees like family, his wife said.
"He didn't have a mean bone in his body," she said. "He was just a dear, sweet man, and everybody loved him. He never said a mean word about anyone."
Besides his wife, survivors include two sons, Robert Earl Abel of San Antonio and Garry Abel of Philadelphia; his mother, Lillian Abel of Carpinteria, Calif.; a sister, Jane Kuperstock of Boca Raton, Fla.; his half brother, Jerry Abel of San Antonio, and two grandchildren.
Visitation will be tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 at Sunset Funeral Home, 1701 Austin Highway. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. Matthews United Methodist Church, 2738 Bitters Road. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park.
Memorial donations are requested for St. Matthews for the Wesley Community Center and Waco Home for Children Outreach Ministry.
March 22, 1999
San Antonio Express-News
Page: 14A
Earl Abel Jr., ex-manager of family eatery, dies at 72
Longtime restaurateur Earl Abel Jr., who managed his family's landmark restaurant on Broadway for 19 years, died Friday at University Hospital. He was 72.
Abel was the son of restaurant founder Earl Abel, who opened an eatery on North Main Street during the Depression, when the job market for his musician's skills dried up. The restaurant now is located at Broadway and Hildebrand and is owned by Jerry Abel, another of the founder's sons.
Earl Abel Jr. spent much of his life working in the restaurant, long a gathering spot for business and community leaders. He was the manager from 1973 until 1992.
Abel was at the restaurant the day former U.S. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez threw his famous punch at a critic who'd called Gonzalez a communist.
Abel enjoyed the notoriety the altercation bestowed upon the restaurant, said his wife, Jean.
"Afterwards, people were coming in and saying 'Where did he sit that day?'" Abel's wife recalled. "Earl said he thought about charging people who used the chair."
Abel was a former president of the San Antonio Restaurant Association and earned its Outstanding Restaurateur award in 1970. He also loved San Antonio and, with his wife, wrote a song about the city recorded in 1988.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1948 and was in the Navy Reserves from 1950 to 1952.
Abel will be remembered as a kind and generous man who loved his family and treated his employees like family, his wife said.
"He didn't have a mean bone in his body," she said. "He was just a dear, sweet man, and everybody loved him. He never said a mean word about anyone."
Besides his wife, survivors include two sons, Robert Earl Abel of San Antonio and Garry Abel of Philadelphia; his mother, Lillian Abel of Carpinteria, Calif.; a sister, Jane Kuperstock of Boca Raton, Fla.; his half brother, Jerry Abel of San Antonio, and two grandchildren.
Visitation will be tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 at Sunset Funeral Home, 1701 Austin Highway. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. Matthews United Methodist Church, 2738 Bitters Road. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park.
Memorial donations are requested for St. Matthews for the Wesley Community Center and Waco Home for Children Outreach Ministry.
March 22, 1999
San Antonio Express-News
Page: 14A
Longtime restaurateur Earl Abel Jr., who managed his family's landmark restaurant on Broadway for 19 years, died Friday at University Hospital. He was 72.
Abel was the son of restaurant founder Earl Abel, who opened an eatery on North Main Street during the Depression, when the job market for his musician's skills dried up. The restaurant now is located at Broadway and Hildebrand and is owned by Jerry Abel, another of the founder's sons.
Earl Abel Jr. spent much of his life working in the restaurant, long a gathering spot for business and community leaders. He was the manager from 1973 until 1992.
Abel was at the restaurant the day former U.S. Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez threw his famous punch at a critic who'd called Gonzalez a communist.
Abel enjoyed the notoriety the altercation bestowed upon the restaurant, said his wife, Jean.
"Afterwards, people were coming in and saying 'Where did he sit that day?'" Abel's wife recalled. "Earl said he thought about charging people who used the chair."
Abel was a former president of the San Antonio Restaurant Association and earned its Outstanding Restaurateur award in 1970. He also loved San Antonio and, with his wife, wrote a song about the city recorded in 1988.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1948 and was in the Navy Reserves from 1950 to 1952.
Abel will be remembered as a kind and generous man who loved his family and treated his employees like family, his wife said.
"He didn't have a mean bone in his body," she said. "He was just a dear, sweet man, and everybody loved him. He never said a mean word about anyone."
Besides his wife, survivors include two sons, Robert Earl Abel of San Antonio and Garry Abel of Philadelphia; his mother, Lillian Abel of Carpinteria, Calif.; a sister, Jane Kuperstock of Boca Raton, Fla.; his half brother, Jerry Abel of San Antonio, and two grandchildren.
Visitation will be tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 at Sunset Funeral Home, 1701 Austin Highway. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. Matthews United Methodist Church, 2738 Bitters Road. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park.
Memorial donations are requested for St. Matthews for the Wesley Community Center and Waco Home for Children Outreach Ministry.
March 22, 1999
San Antonio Express-News
Page: 14A
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