Leipsic - Bob Abel died unexpectedly, but peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Jan. 8, 2016. Bob was born in York County, PA on Nov. 3, 1948. He was the son of William and Virginia Abel, both of whom are now deceased. He is survived by his sweetheart and companion of 20 years, Cade Gibson; his stepchildren, who he loved as much as any father, David Gibson, Natasha Gibson Steinmacher (John), Emily Gibson Vacchelli (Joshua) and Cynthia Gibson; and a son, Brion Abel. Bob had an unquenchable curiosity, and a fascination with a wide variety of areas. His eclectic fields of interests were reflected in his many job choices. Although he was educated as a social worker at Eastern Mennonite College, and he always referred to himself as a social worker, he also worked selling pipes, selling cameras, selling jewelry, repairing computers, and doing administrative work. In addition, he had a number of jobs with the state of Delaware that involved social work. However, his favorite jobs were the ones that he held most recently, working with Modern Maturity with the Meals on Wheels program, and volunteering to help with people in the early stages of Alzheimer's at MMC's Front Porch program. Not only was Bob noted for his wonderful tenor voice, he also played guitar and ukulele, enjoyed bird watching, was a skilled photographer, was a history buff specializing in Civil War history, and loved to explore the back ways and byways. And after several trips to Hawaii to visit his daughter, Emily, he would waylay any unsuspecting person to regal they with tales of his adventures, and the sights he saw in our island state. His life was one of service to his fellows. But since he always had a joke – some of his jokes were pretty corny – or a story to tell, it was of joyful service. Everyone who knew him knew that he was an over-the-hill hippy, and he took pride in that fact. A celebration of Bob's life will be held at 2:00 on Feb. 13, 2016 at the UU Church of Central Delaware, where Bob served on the Board of Directors. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the family to defray expenses would be appreciated. Letters of condolence may be shared at www.pippinfuneralhome.com