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February 26, 2025 would have been Abe's and my 27th wedding anniversary. To commemorate the day I decided to do some positive things, one of which was to finish posting the pictures from Abel's Memorial Trip to share with all of you. Thank you again to everyone that so generously contributed to help take Abel to be buried in his hometown of Bethlehem, PA - and for my son, Jonathan, and I to travel to the 2 places Abe had wanted to visit before covid and his declining health wouldn't allow him to travel - The Life-Size Replica of Noah's Ark in Williamstown, KY and The Billy Graham Memorial Library in Charlotte, NC. So here are more photos from Abel's Memorial Trip:
- Bethlehem, PA -
Church Abe grew up in.
Pastors from First Baptist Church who kindly preached at Abe's service.
Abe's ashes and with memorial items - and his minion that came on this journey for Abe.
Abel's parents stone right above his.
Abel's Memorial stone. It has a message that meant a lot to him and to his Mom and Dad.
Abe's childhood home (middle house). Abel's Mom, Sara, told me "I loved my little house!" Of our little church in Phoenix (Desert Mission Anglican Church) Abe often said "I love our little church!"
The Ice cream shop near Abe's childhood home. He used to tell me that he would go there and talk to the workers (in his funny, friendly manner!) and discovered he would often get a larger than normal portion!
There was a Wawa convenience store near their home that Abe told stories about - how his mom would send him to get ice cream sandwiches, and how one time he alerted the shop clerk that another kid was stealing candy bars by stuffing them in his socks!
Abe took classes at one or both of these schools. He loved to tell me stories of the history of Bethlehem, PA that included the Moravians. He especially loved the traditions at Christmas with a candle lit in each window.
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After Bethlehem, Jonathan and I and Abe's minion headed south toward the Billy Graham Memorial Library - - in spite of the hurricanes and flooding at the time! So thankful for my son, Jonathan, who kept encouraging us to keep going and figuring out safe paths!
On the way down the east cost (which I had never traveled before!) Jonathan found an old battleship turned museum for us to visit. Here is "Abe" checking out the big guns and the replics ice cream shop that was on board!
Then we stopped in Wilmington, NC to go to a place I wanted to visit - Benny's Big Time Pizzeria. Abe and I used to watch a series on PBS called Chef and the Farmer - and this is one of their restaurants. Great unique pizzas! Yum!
On to:
-Charlotte, NC - Billy Graham Memorial Library. Abe often told me that Billy Graham's ministry impacted his life. He supported it (and Phoenix Rescue Mission) with small financial gifts for many years.
Abe would have loved this picture of his minion on Billy Graham's microphone!
Billy Graham, Johnny Cash, Jonathan, and Abe's minion!
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Next was supposed to be Florida...
-Columbia, SC-
Part of our plan was to also visit Jonathan's friends, Bre and Nathaniel who were working at Disney World in Florida, and then had to evacuate to South Carolina because of the hurricanes! So with Jonathan's excellent navigation and research skills, we made it to South Carolina!
So good to visit with Bre and Nathaniel and have some great southern food!
And we got to see parts of the city including Downtown Columbia, SC - sidewalk drums, and an old-fashioned store that's been there a long time!
Finally, with hurricanes calmed down and floods abating, we headed to Florida and Disney World! So much thanks to Nathaniel for hosting us as guests! The best Disney ride operator ever! We had a fantastic time and the guys even got me on some scary roller coasters with me screaming all the way! I'm sure Abe was laughing all the way up in heaven!
We reluctantly bid Nathaniel farewell and offered him our great gratitude and headed west.
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On our way out of Orlando we stopped at Bob Ross's grave site. He was a painter/instructor host on the PBS show The Joy of Painting show His folksy demeanor and references to “happy little” trees endeared him to fans. Both Abe and Jonathan enjoyed watching his show.
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Two things Abe and Jonathan and I have always liked to do when we travel is to try new and different restaurants and see unusual sights along the way. So on our way west we went through Pensacola, FL where Jonathan discovered a fantastic taco truck in a permanent location. Taqueria el Asador is well worth a stop. We ate there for dinner AND breakfast!
Our next destination was New Orleans, LA. When we arrived, our first adventure was to go to the Mardi Gras museum where they not only store floats, but still create new ones.
The tour guide was amazing and gave a lot of historical background.
Amazing craftsmanship!
Carved out of compacted Styrofoam either by hand, with hand-held tools, or a robotic arm that is programmed!
Lots of historic pieces - this reminded me of Abel's great smile!
NOLA! New Orleans, LA!
At Disney World Jonathan and Nathaniel tried to ride the new Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride based on the character below that was in the movie The Princess and the Frog. But for 3 or 4 times, the ride kept breaking down before they could get on! They finally tried it one more time before we left the park that night and got to ride! So when we found Tiana at the Mardi Gras Museum, I had to take a picture!
The float below is based on a real person named Shorty who is a trombone player. The tour guide said he still comes each year to play his trombone and ride on the float.
Beads!
Jesters!
Abe loved Chick-fil-A! So I set his minion in a chicken!
This place is really huge! After the official tour, they allowed you to walk around wherever you wanted to see all the old, new, and in-process pieces. The artwork was amazing.
I had to get a picture of Abe's minion on this pineapple! Abe loved the TV show Psych - and each episode had a pineapple in it somewhere!
Axolotl
Classic King Kong!
Yikes!
A king's chair for king cake - part of Mardi Gras tradition.
King Jonathan - and - King Abe.
On the tour they gave each person a piece of King's Cake and explained the religious, biblical, and historical significance of Mardi Gras.
Abe loved tigers. I bought him a tiger calendar almost every year.
While at the Mardi Gras Museum, we found out that there was going to be a Halloween parade in the French Quarter that we decided to go to. It was pretty crazy! The floats threw out massive amounts of candy and beads! Jonathan was covered in beads!
Along with visiting the French Quarter, we went to several museums, walking tours - AND - an alligator boat tour! Our guide was superb! He gave lots of information and got some alligators to come near the boat because he feeds them marshmallows! He caught and held one under its jawbone!
That's the guide in the cap luring the alligator in with marshmallows just before he grabbed and held him by his jaw for a bit!
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- Austin, TX -
We visited Austin, TX to see the world's largest urban colony of bats! Amazing!
While there we also visited the Umlauf Sculpture Garden... a restful place Abe would have loved.
We also went to the Austin Toy Museum. Abe would have loved this collection since he was a toy collector himself.
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Next, Waco, TX and the Dr. Pepper Museum. So, I am the big Dr. Pepper fan - - now Diet Dr. Pepper - - and Abel was always kind enough to remember and treat me to a cold, fizzy soda.
While in Waco we stopped to see an 80 foot tall toy soldier!
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- Roswell, NM -
Well, I had to take Abe to Roswell, NM. Years ago we stopped there and bought a laser ray gun (that we still have) so our cats could chase the little red light!
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Santa Fe, NM
Back in Santa Fe, NM again, Jonathan discovered an art walk night with free admission. We were able to go to multiple galleries and view some amazing artwork. We also ate at an African restaurant and a French bakery. Yum! Abe and I enjoyed visiting Santa Fe years ago.
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On the way home Jonathan found the ICE CAVE AND BANDERA VOLCANO
Grants, NM. We enjoyed taking the self-guided tours and visiting the trading post.
The green is frozen ice. It's very cold down there!
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On to Flagstaff, AZ and a stop for a picture at Black Bart's Steakhouse. Years back Abe and I had a couple of really fun and delicious meals there with their entertainment and food. Good memories.
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And then back home.
Abe's sister-in-law, Beth, and his brother, Fidel, were very kind to buy us a memory box to put items from Abe's life to remember him by. Thank you very much, Beth & Fidel.
Abe, I miss you.
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The beginning of the trip:
9/27/24 - We started on Abel's Memorial Journey. Abe loved the Minion movies, so we're using one of his minion figurines to take pictures with. We stayed at a unique air-bnb outside of Santa Fe, NM our first night. We got in after dark and the home owner, an 82-year old man, said he would ride his bike out the half mile to the road and guide us in since there are no streetlights! And sure enough he did! Then he made us a delicious vegetarian mexican meal.
We started on Abel's Memorial Journey. Abe loved the Minion movies, so we're using one of his minion figurines to take pictures with.
9/28/24 - On the way to Tulsa, stopped at Clines Corners Truck Stop. When my Dad traveled when I was small, I remember him loving to stop there and buying fudge. We got some chocolate fudge and sour cherry fudge to take to my sister.
Spent my birthday with my sister in Tulsa, OK. All home-made delicious birthday dinner! Thanks, Barb!
10/1/24 - stopped in St. Louis on our way to Noah's Ark. Went up in the arch, ate pastry and BBQ.
10/3/24 - Noah's Ark Encounter - Amazing! Thank you, Abe! The quality of this place is excellent. We stayed for a day, but we could have stayed longer. It is well worth the journey. The architecture is breathtaking. The research and explanations of how they believe all may have been done are well thought out and well written. So good.
Camel rudes at the Noah's Ark zoo!
A zorse - zebra/horse!
The Ark is huge!
Stopped in rural PA to honor our friend Jo Ann Craver. She and Abe loved to tease each other.
10/6/24 - Photos from Abe's hometown, Bethlehem.
Abel's childhood home and the park nearby.
Small restaurant and store a short distance from his home. He had lots of memories from the neighborhood.
The sewing factory where Abe's mom, Sara, worked and where Abel and his brother, Fidel, worked summer jobs. And the ice cream shop in their neighborhood.
The church Abel grew up in.
10/7/24 - Abel's Memorial Service in his hometown of Bethlehem, PA. Below are items I put in Abe's Memorial Box to be buried with his ashes. One of his most prized possessions was his membership certificate to our church, Desert Mission Anglican Church.
The current pastor, Rev. Hardin, of First Baptist Church (https://fbc-bethlehem.org/) in Bethlehem, PA (the church Abe grew up in) led a moving service for Abel's burial.
The service was attended by family and friends.
Abel's brothers and sisters - Fidel, Leda, Ev, and Diana
Thanks to Abe's Family for their care and support. And to Abe's brother, Fidel and his wife for a soft bed, great food, and very cute puppies - Tango & Whisky!
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9/27/24 - We started on Abel's Memorial Journey. Abe loved the Minion movies, so we're using one of his minion figurines to take pictures with.
9/2/24 Updates below: We will be having Abe's Pennsylvania Memorial Service and burial on October 7, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at Nisky Hill Cemetery in Bethlehem, PA. Below is the artwork for his memorial marker.
I've been so grateful for all of the help in both donations, time, discussion, and prayer. I'm so grateful for all of you who have been so supportive. Thank you. Very much.
I wanted to put something significant on Abe's marker. Something that might make a difference in others lives - just as so many compassionate, caring people have made a difference in our lives since we got married in 1998, the same year Abe started having, and continued to have, very serious medical difficulties. I decided to put 2 things on his marker - scripture and something Abe's mom, Sarah, kept saying to me when Abe ended up in the hospital in 1998 and needed brain surgery. She kept saying "God is in control." Frankly, it made me super annoyed at the time!! Abe was so sick and he didn't even know who I was. But, over the years, I have learned the truth of that statement - and the need to believe and rely on it. The scripture I chose was part of a version of Philippians 4:6-7. I wanted the whole scripture, but it wouldn't fit.
New Living
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
New King James
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Throughout Abe's life, he struggled with worry and fear. But he never stopped turning to God. He believed that, no matter what, God heard and walked with him. And through it all - Abe kept smiling. I am grateful.
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8/31/24
My son and I will be driving my car to go to Pennsylvania for Abe's Family Memorial Service and burial.
I am so grateful that through some connections from folks at work I am having my car repaired at a high school auto repair program. The new teacher worked for Subaru for many years and I have a Subaru! With the work he and his students are doing he feels it will be safe to drive cross-country. And the cost is just for parts and a donation to the auto program. Of course you have to be able to leave the car there for an extended period of time since he is teaching the students how to diagnose and repair it. So Jonathan and I are sharing his car for now. I told the teacher I just need it back no later than October 2nd to give us time to get to PA by October 5th or 6th.
This has made a difference in the costs both of the car repairs and the cost to travel since I can take my own car. The auto teacher us having them do tie rod ends, sway bar, serpentine belt, front and back brakes and rotors, oil change, and servicing the transmission and differential fluids.
I am so thankful to God for this and so thankful to everyone who has helped on this journey - both the car and the whole memorial process.
And Abe always loved when we could get a great deal on something, so I know this would please him!
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I'm so grateful for everyone who was able to attend the memorial service for Abel at Desert Mission Anglican Church. Many thanks to Father Nathan Hale for the service and sermon, to Amber Hale and the worship team for the music that Abe loved, and to everyone who helped with the reception. This service contained many of the prayers that Abe loved and prayed each week. Good memories of his faithfulness and dedication to God and our little church. Please see below for a link to a video of the service.
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Phoenix AZ Memorial Service - 7/21/24 @ 5 pm @ Desert Mission Anglican Church, 234 E. Alice Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85020
Bethlehem PA Memorial Service - date to be determined for September or October 2024
So grateful to have had Abe's brother, Fidel, and his wife Beth visit. They were a great comfort and support to us. They also really helped Jonathan and me to go through some of Abe's things. Brought up a lot of memories to share. Thank you so much Beth and Fidel. You have blessed us.
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Abel Gonzalez, my (Kathy Bowersock) husband of 26 years, went to heaven to be with his Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, on June 24th, 2024. For all but three months of those 26 years, Abel had ongoing medical difficulties that starting with ruptured brain aneurysms and brain injury three months after we married, heart and circulatory problems, and chronic conditions that affected his ability to stay hydrated which required constant attention. Abe has had many hospitalizations in the last two years requiring extensive care as he was no longer able to do many things for himself. Then in the past few weeks he got another infection and was just too weak to fight it off. I will be having a funeral service for Abe here in Phoenix at our home church, Desert Mission Anglican Church. And as Abe requested, I will be taking his ashes for burial in his hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and having a family service there. I’m requesting assistance to cover Abe’s final expenses which include funeral and travel expenses and help with outstanding medical bills.
Abel Gonzalez was an easy-going guy with a silly sense of humor, a quick wit, and a quirky smile. Abe loved to help people laugh and often found ways to help people laugh at themselves even in difficult situations. This was fortunate since he struggled with serious medical issues for more than 25 years. During those times of multitudes of doctor’s appointments and hospital stays, one of his greatest joys was to crack a good joke or make some off-the-wall comment that no one was expecting and get a good guffaw out of the medical staff that were helping him through his trauma.
Abe always thought this photo was very funny!
When we married in 1998, I found Abe easy to talk to and I enjoyed his funny jokes and laid-back attitude toward life (Well, most of the time!).
Little did I know the difficult journey that was ahead. Three months into our marriage, Abel suffered two serious ruptured brain aneurysms and nearly died. He was in the hospital for 3 long months. Doctors warned that with the amount of brain injury he had incurred he would most likely live out the rest of his life in a nursing home. Abel’s mother, Sara, kept telling me “God is in control!”
We knew many people were praying for Abe and he did finally get well enough to go home from the hospital. But there had been extensive brain injury and the road ahead was a long one. Abel did, however, thrive in the Barrow brain injury rehab programs at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
After about three years of hard work in rehab and then other back to work programs, Abel proudly was hired for a job as an Accounting Mail Clerk at St. Joes. Abe loved working there and was able to continue his work there for more than ten years.
When Abel had to leave this job because of more health issues, he continued to volunteer five days a week at a variety of places including, thrift stores, libraries, churches, and food banks. At each of these jobs he still loved to tell a good story or tease someone, all to bring a smile and laughter.
Abe loved to get a great deal, finding sales and clipping coupons and getting me to take him grocery shopping so he could show off his receipts at work and brag about how much money he saved! And this helped to fund his love of going to movies, restaurants, and community theatre – and letting me come along! We had some excellent adventures doing this and found joy in these simple pleasures.
But time took a toll on Abe’s body and his brain. He had many, many medical issues that increased over the years and he was in and out of the hospital dozens and dozens of times, often for long periods. There were many things he could no longer do for himself and he got to the point he needed someone with him 24 hours a day to help with feeding, bathing, and moving him. I so appreciate and give thanks to my son, Jonathan, for stepping up and becoming Abe's caregiver in ways I could not. Jonathan was a huge help and gave Abel great comfort in his last days - and was, and is, a great support to me in this process.
Finally, as Abel grew weaker in the past couple of months, I had to make the decision to ask for hospice care at home for Abe. I struggled with this decision because I didn’t want to give up on him. But he had recently told me in a lucid moment that he didn’t want to go back to the hospital anymore. Abe’s doctor told me that in her opinion he had made the end-of-life decision for himself at that moment.
I honored his wishes and although it was very difficult, I did not take Abel to the hospital. Jonathan helped care for Abe much of the time during this time when Abe was so weak he couldn't stand or sit on his own - caring for all of his needs.
During these past weeks Abe often asked me “Can we go home now? I’m so tired.” The end of our love story is not what we expected. But, in the midst of all of Abe’s struggles, I have tried to honor our love, including Abe’s wishes for his health, every day of our 26 years of marriage by taking good care of him, being his friend, his nurse, his drill sergeant (when needed), and his wife.
Knowing time was short, I spent time that night before going to bed talking with Abe about our life together. I reminded him of the good times we had experienced. And I assured him he could let go whenever he was ready. So, during that night he quietly left while I slept. Something, maybe it was Abe, or his angel, woke me at 12:09 a.m. and I saw that he was gone. I miss him greatly - but I am grateful he finally got to go to his heavenly home where he is no longer tired.
Abel’s body has been donated to a medical lab and his cremated remains will be returned to me. He was always so grateful for all of the doctors and nurses and medical staff and procedures that kept him going. It gives me a lot of joy to know that the losses Abe experienced during all those years of medical challenges might eventually help others.
In the months ahead, Abe and I will take our final trip together. He requested that he be buried in Pennsylvania where he grew up and where his parents are buried. I will honor his request and take him home.
Thank you for your interest and concern during this trying time. Your texts and messages have been a source of comfort to me. Whether or not you are able to assist financially, I always appreciate your prayers, support, and kind words. I praise God that Abe is at home with Jesus and free of pain and confusion. And probably making the angels laugh! – Kathy Bowersock
Your contribution can help with all of these things:
Funeral and Burial Expenses: I plan to honor Abe's request and give him the burial and grave marker he desired in his hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in Nisky Hill Cemetery where his parents are. I will have a memorial service here in Phoenix at our church, Desert Mission Anglican Church, and and one with Abel’s family in Pennsylvania.
Travel Expenses to Pennsylvania: In my process of honoring Abe's burial wishes, I, and my son, Jonathan, will need to travel to Pennsylvania. There are two places along the way that Abel always wanted to go. Before covid, I was trying to plan a road trip for him. He talked about how Billy Graham had an impact in his life and how he wanted to go to the Billy Graham Memorial Library. He also wanted to visit the life-size replica of Noah’s Ark. Then covid hit. Abel’s health began to decline and this trip was no longer possible. I would love to make this trip a pilgrimage to honor him.
Medical Expenses: Long term illness garners a lot of expense, even when you have health insurance. Although I have worked hard to keep up with these expenses there are still outstanding costs that must be met.
Organizer
