It is with sadness that I report to you the death of our beloved former deacon and past principal of St. Mary’s School, Joseph Gabriele.

Deacon Gabriele spent most of his life in the Simsbury area where he taught in the public school system and held administrative posts before becoming the principal of St. Mary’s School in his retirement years. He was one of the first deacons ordained for the Archdiocese of Hartford, eventually headed up the deacon program of the Archdiocese, and served as a deacon at St. Mary’s Church for many years, where he was known for his dynamic preaching and his love and concern for others.

Those who were privileged to know Deacon Gabriele could not but be impressed by his engaging personality, his ability to tell a good story, his devotion to his beloved wife Marilyn who pre-deceased him by only a few months, and his beautiful family of five daughters, and their families. To enter his home was to walk into a home of love and song where everyone was welcome, because everyone was treated as Christ.

On the day he died, as I anointed him and said the prayers for the dying, he was lovingly surrounded by his five daughters who, after the administration of the sacrament, spontaneously joined in song to support him in his final journey. It was a most blessed death.

During his last years at St. Mary’s, Deacon Gabriele and his wife Marilyn regularly attended the 11:00 AM Mass, where they sat in the first pew in the south wing. Except for those days when they were seriously sick, they attended Mass every weekend, without exception, no matter the weather, despite their failing health. What a wonderful example they were to all of us. How much we will miss them.

We pray for Deacon Gabriele and his family, filled with faith and trust that in Christ he is now reunited with his beloved wife Marilyn.

Father Matera