Friday, May 9, 2008
Edwin J. Zabel, 89, who owned and operated a watch repair business for about 40 years until retiring in the mid-1980s, died of
respiratory failure April 30 at Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sandy Spring. Mr. Zabel started his business at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. The business was located at Fort Myer when he retired.
Edwin Joseph Zabel was a native Washingtonian and a 1937 graduate of Gonzaga College High School. He was an Army
veteran of World War II and attended a technical school to learn watchmaking.
He was a member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Silver Spring, his city of residence. His avocations included golfing
and bowling.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Louise McKay Zabel of Silver Spring; four children, Mary Shepherd of Akron, Ohio, Mark
Zabel of Ellicott City and Joseph Zabel and Lawrence Zabel, both of Germantown; a sister, Estelle Achstetter of Silver Spring;
and eight grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein