Maureen Gabriel, a World War II veteran and longtime resident of Elk Grove, died at her dwelling on Nov. 28 at the age of 102.

As a proud U.S. Navy veteran, she cherished her participation in Elk Grove’s Veterans Day Parade in 2019 as 1 of the highlights of her life. For the duration of the same calendar year, then-Mayor Steve Ly introduced Gabriel with a Vital to the Metropolis of Elk Grove, in recognition of her 100 yrs of lifetime.

In her interview with the Citizen in 2019, Gabriel was requested about her key to longevity.

“I often instructed all people (that) my longevity is for the reason that I never acquired married and didn’t have any youngsters,” she reported.

Instead, she committed herself to caring for her mother.

Gabriel’s father died when she was about 10 years aged, and she formulated a close connection with her mother, in the end starting to be her caretaker.

“My sisters and brothers all received married and I couldn’t leave my mother by itself,” Gabriel explained to the Citizen in 2019. “I took care of my mother after everybody left.”

In 1987, Gertrude died in Elk Grove at the age of 92. She and Gabriel moved to Sacramento in 1973 and then to Elk Grove in 1978.

Even though expanding up in Connecticut, Gabriel and her five siblings ended up raised by their mother and a person of their aunts.

Gabriel informed the Citizen, in 2019, that her mom was her family’s sole economic service provider throughout the Terrific Depression.

“My mom was a amazing girl, pretty tough,” she reported. “She would stroll to function, arrive house at noon to feed us, stroll back to function and then appear residence at night time.

“We didn’t have funds for buses or trolleys or just about anything.”

Even though attending higher college in Connecticut, Gabriel was hired to do the job at a 5-and-dime keep.

At the age of 25, she made her conclusion to enlist with the Navy.

Gabriel discussed, in 2019, why she chose to be part of the Navy throughout Entire world War II.

“My sister, Betty, went into the Navy, and she was stationed out in this article in San Francisco,” she mentioned. “She was calling up all the time. She was lonely, so I told my mother, ‘I’m going to go into the Navy to…