April 21, 1939 - Feb. 27, 2006
BIRD ISLAND -- Gene "Zeke" Schablin, 66, of Rockford, formerly of Bird Island, died Monday at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale.
The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Bird Island. Burial will be at the Morton City Cemetery, with military rites by the Morton American Legion.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Dirks-Blem Funeral Home in Bird Island, with a 7 p.m. prayer service, and from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
He was born April 21, 1939, in Morton to Clarence and Dorothy (Bloom) Schablin. He attended school in Morton. His family moved to Bird Island and he attended school there. He served in the U.S. Navy for six years as a gunners mate aboard the USS Boston, USS Macon and USS Tidewater.
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He married Philomena Crowley on May 21, 1961. They lived in Virginia and then moved to Massachusetts. They moved to Rockford in 1977. He worked in the plastic injection molding industry for 30 years and then was self-employed in heating and air conditioning for 16 years. He retired in 2005.
Gene was a member of the Delano American Legion.
He is survived by his wife; three children: John (and Stacy) Schablin of Buffalo, Gene (and Rita) Schablin of St. Michael, Elaine Norby of Rockford; 12 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and three sisters: Mary Lou Ryan of Bird Island, Lois (and Harold) Hennegraph of Iowa and Judy Lehman of Cosmos.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
