Myrtle Abel

ABEL - Myrtle Louise Abel, of Waterford, went to be with her Lord October 18, 2009 at the age of 92. Preceded in death by her husband, John H. Abel; her parents, John and Jennie (Huyser) Schut; her siblings, Marian (Rip) Raterink, Gerrit (Alma) Schut, Dorothy (Jim) Baareman and Shenie (Ted) Kort; John's siblings, Iren (Ken) Yonker, Jim (Jane) Abel. She is survived by her dear friend and sister-in-law, Helen (Bob) Swindell and her loving children, Gary (Alicia) Abel, David Abel, Janice Meagher, Bradley (Linda) Abel; her grandchildren, Jennifer Meagher, Candice Smith, Kimberly (Andy) Buckland, Kristin Abel, Katie (Shaun) Keough, Elizabeth Abel, Nicholas Abel; her great grandchildren, Taylor and Cameron Smith, Addison and Anderson Buckland; and many nieces and nephews. Myrtle was born and raised on a farm in Hudsonville, MI. She married her high school sweetheart, John Abel, in 1940. They both attended Western State Normal (now Western Michigan University), graduating in 1938. They moved to Waterford in 1942 where they raised their four children. Myrtle graduated with a BA degree in Education. She began her teaching career in Brown City, teaching elementary school until the arrival of her first child in 1942. She resumed her career as a substitute teacher in Waterford in 1954. In 1971, after the death of her husband, she began teaching full time at Carl Sandburg Elementary until her retirement in 1983. Myrtle was an active member, since 1940, of the First Presbyterian Church of Pontiac. After retirement, she loved spending time at her cottage on Whitefish Bay in Paradise, MI, reading, and doing puzzles of any kind. Until recently, she was an active member of the Waterford Foundation for Public Education. In her later years, her greatest pleasure was watching her grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow and felt blessed to have them to enrich her life. Funeral services will be held Thursday, October 22, 2009, 11:00 a.m. at Coats Funeral Home, Waterford. Committal service following at White Chapel Cemetery in Troy. Family will receive friends Wednesday 3 to 8 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the Waterford Foundation for Public Education or Karmanos Cancer. To send a private condolence to the family, go to www.coatsfuneralhome.com and select Guestbook.