Mabel Josephine Riepl Tongish

Mabel J. Tongish, 88, of Amarillo, died Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010 at 1:20 am. Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Friday in St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church with Monsignor Joseph Tash as celebrant. Burial will be in Memory Gardens Cemetery. There will be no formal procession after services. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S. Georgia St. Mabel was born Sept. 15, 1921, in Herndon, Kan., where she attended St. Mary's grade and high schools. She received her Registered Nurse's degree in 1943 from St. Anthony's Hospital School of Nursing in Denver. She enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve (nurse corps) upon graduation from nurses training in 1943, and was released to inactive duty in the U.S. Naval Reserve in late 1951 at which time she received her honorable discharge from the Navy. Mabel graduated from Charity Hospital School of Anesthesia of New Orleans in 1948. Mabel lived and worked in Houston for a number of years. She married Claude Tongish in 1959 in Pasadena. In 1960, they moved to Amarillo where Mabel worked for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center as a nurse anesthetist. She retired from the VA in 1962 after the birth of their daughter, Karen. Mabel's family would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to the doctors, nurses and staff of BSA Hospice for their kind and considerate care of our beloved wife and mother while in their care during her brief stay with them. Thank you. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Josephine Riepl; three sisters, Agnes Walsh, Mildred Hutfles, and Dorothy Riley; and two brothers, Ernest and Dale Riepl. Survivors include her husband, Claude of Amarillo; a daughter, Karen Tongish of New York City; and numerous friends and relatives. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be to a charity of choice.