Gabriel Austin (Nolan) passed away March 8, 2013 at age of 77. During his last days residing at Sombrillo Nursing Home he was surrounded by his many Los Alamos friends. He is survived by his daughter Louise, and his granddaughter and namesake Gabrielle, who will miss him very much, as well as his extended family in France and across the world.Gabe, as he was well known was born on Sept. 3, 1935 in New York City, where he lived for most of his life. He loved books more than anything in life except his family, and he spent his entire professional life making sure that all the books he came upon found their way to their rightful owners (even if that meant they sometimes spent 10-15 years on Gabe's own bookshelves). He attended school at Salesian High School in New Rochelle, N.Y., and went on to undergraduate at St John's University, N.Y. He obtained a masters degree in Library Sciences at Pratt Institute. Gabe worked as a librarian at the New York Public Library on 42nd St. for many years and was also for a time Director of The Grolier Club, a noted bibliophile group in New York, as well as a library auctioneer at Sotheby's Parke-Bernet. He owned and operated Wittenborn Art Books on Madison Ave in NYC from 1976-1991, and finally spent the last of his working years as the resident librarian for Four Oaks Farm, home of Lady Mary Eccles, which housed the most important collection of materials on the 18th century writer Samuel Johnson and his biographer/friend John Boswell (since bequeathed to Harvard).Gabe left his East Coast roots in 2004, moving to Los Alamos, where he found friends, warmth, comfort and finally peace. He was beloved by all those who knew him, because of his charm, his wit, his humor and most of all for the respect he showed to each and every person he met. Above all else, Gabe was a true gentleman.A memorial service for Gabriel will be at 10 a.m. March 25, 2013 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Los Alamos.
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