The Rev. Paul F. Abel, 85, died on July 19, 2007 in Durham, N.C. He was born on Oct. 22, 1921 in Tokyo, Japan to missionary parents, the late Fred and Dora Shank Abel. Paul graduated from Asbury College in 1945 and from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1948. He was an ordained minister in the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, where he served for 38 years.
Paul is survived by his wife of 62 years, Wilmetta Turkington Abel, his daughter, Carol A. Wellman and her husband, David, of Chapel Hill, N.C.; daughter-in-law, Janis Abel, of Rock Hill, S.C., a brother, David Abel, of Wabash, Ind., sister-in-law, Betty Turkington Jensen, of Blue Bell, Pa., brother-in-law, Charles Turkington and his wife, Mary K. of Lake Junaluska, N.C., and 4 grandchildren.
Paul was preceded in death by his son, Paul F. Abel Jr., and two sisters, Dorothy Abel and Esther Abel Bohen.
