Obituary for Leon "Buddy" Gabro
Leon H. “Buddy” Gabro, Jr., having been blessed with 95 years of life, has now “graduated with honors” to meet his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Born Feb. 15, 1929, in Leesville, LA, “Buddy”, (nicknamed by his Dad), excelled in school, athletics and boyhood. He earned his Eagle Scout rank at 17, and was elected Leesville High School Class President his Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years. He began college at Northwestern State, but after his first semester, he transferred to LSU and lived underneath Tiger Stadium in overflow rooms they used for freshman. Buddy graduated with a B.S. degree in Physics, married his high school sweetheart, Nita Porter, and went to work as a geophysicist for Humble Oil, (now Exxon) deep in the swamps of South Louisiana. His job was doing seismograph work while being housed on “quarter boats”. It took all his Eagle Scout training, along with the help of his Cajun crew, that taught that city boy the rules of the swamp to survive. Quickly making his way up the corporate ladder, and when the first computers were installed, they moved him to New Orleans to start up the new technology for processing the data from the seismograph teams. He spent 40 years in South Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas, with his last 5 years being the Exxon Geophysical Team representative to Aramco in Saudi Arabia. He retired in Houston and lived there until his death. Buddy was a charter member and deacon at Westbury Baptist Church, and enjoyed going to his church and playing golf at Riverbend Country Club until he was 92. He was preceded in death by Nita, the love of his life of 60 years, along with his sister, Beulah, brother, Al, and grandson Bo Higgs.
Survivors include his 4 children: Gayla (Ray) Miller, Lisa (Steve) Higgs, Gary (DeeAnn) Gabro, and Mark (Cathy) Gabro; Grandchildren: Steve (Tammy), Jared (Haylie), Mallory (Justin), Katie (Kyle), Brandon (Andrea), Jed, 8 great-grandchildren and #9 due soon.
Many heartfelt thanks to his favorite Doctor and friend, Dr. Lisa Ehrlich, and all the many precious friends “that became family” helping us through Dad’s life! In lieu of flowers, please give to the charity of your choice or spend time with your loved ones!
A private family service will be held as we take Dad back to his beloved Vernon Parish, LA.
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