Gabi Farran

Gabi Farran, 74, of Colfax, passed away on July 19 at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m., Saturda at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Lexington; with Pastor David Bergelin officiating.  A time of visitation with his family will be from 1 to 2:45 p.m., prior to the service also at the church on Saturday.  Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Colfax is in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests that memorial contributions be directed to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Lexington, EMCAA of Colfax or the charity of the donor’s choice.

Gabi was born on June 11, 1942 in Jerusalem, a son to Ibrahim and Fadwa Farran. He attended the Good Shepherd Grade School, in Beirut, Lebanon, the American Friends High School in Ramallah, Israel; and completed his undergraduate studies in Clinical Chemistry, London University.  He came to the United States as a Trainee in 1966 and worked at Mennonite Hospital and the Stroink Pathology Laboratory, Bloomington for two decades.

He was married Alma Bielfeldt on Nov. 22, 1969 in Bloomington.  She survives in Colfax.  He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, one sister and one daughter, Maria.

Other survivors include one daughter, Nadia (Benjamin) Klekamp, and granddaughter, Eliana; all of Towanda; one brother, Ramzi (Carol) Farran of Oak Park; and one sister, Sophie (Angelo) Mavromatis of Norwalk, Calif..

Gabi was quiet but had a generous heart.  He was an avid reader, excelled and received awards in creative writing; and was a great story-teller for his younger siblings, nieces and nephews.   He cared about his community and the environment, receiving an Eagle Scout Rank during his high school years. This background provided the basis for his interest in international events.   He was always up for a watching a good movie. He was also an avid sports fan, especially of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Together, Gabi and Alma shared both joys and sorrows.  They worked together in raising purebred horses.  One of his greatest joys was loving and raising their daughter, Nadia.  They were very proud of her personal, academic and athletic achievements; and Gabi became a super sports fan, in following Nadia’s high school basketball and volley ball games.  For the past 8 months, what brought him greatest happiness was providing care for his granddaughter, Eliana.

A guest book and online condolences may be directed to the family at www.duffypilsmemorialhome.com.