Warren H Gabelman

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Warren H. Gabelman, known to all as Buck, passed away June 11, 2022. He was born April 18, 1921 in Tilden, Nebraska, the youngest child of Charles A. and Alvina (Feddersen) Gabelman. As a youngster growing up on a farm and attending country school, he developed an interest in sports. After graduating from Tilden High School in 1938, he attended the University of Nebraska where he earned three varsity letters in baseball, was a member of Farm House fraternity, and majored in Plant Sciences (Horticulture).

Immediately after graduation from the University of Nebraska in 1942, Warren joined the U.S. Navy Reserve, completing midshipman school at Notre Dame University in January, 1943. He was sent to Noumea, New Caledonia to Admiral Halsey's command for assignment on a destroyer. From May, 1943 to May, 1945, he served aboard the USS Nicholas (DD449), seven months as Assistant Communications Officer and 17 months as Communications Offer as well as Officer of the Deck at General Quarters. During World War II the USS Nicholas earned 16 battle stars, a Presidential Unit Citation for the Battle of Kula Gulf and the rescue of survivors of the cruiser USS Helena, and was Admiral Halsey's choice to pick up and transport to the USS Missouri the Japanese who negotiated peace terms at war's end. Warren earned 13 battle stars, the Presidential Unit Citation, and two bronze stars during his time aboard the Nicholas. At war's end he was a member of the commissioning crew of the destroyer USS Glennon (DD840). He left the navy in January, 1946 as a Lieutenant USNR.

During his undergraduate days at the University, he met Alberta Timmas of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, a student in Home Economics and his future wife. On June 30, 1945, before reporting to the USS Glennon (DD840) they were married in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Immediately after the war they spent one semester at the University of Nebraska, followed by an appointment (1946-49) at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut and as a graduate student at Yale University. In 1949, after completing his Ph.D. in the Department of Botany and Microbiology (Genetics) at Yale, he joined the staff of the University of Wisconsin as an Assistant Professor of Horticulture. His responsibilities were to develop a research program on the breeding and genetics of onions, carrots and table beets and to teach a course on the principles of plant breeding.

Warren was promoted to Associate Professor in 1956 and Professor in 1960. He served as departmental Chair from 1965-73. During his career he developed and released the first F ₁ hybrid carrots and table beets for commercial use. Warren developed inbred lines and populations that continue to be used as parents for the production of vegetable crops throughout the world. With Professor G.C. Gerloff (Botany) he developed research on genetic control of phosphorus, potassium and calcium uptake and use by plants. He was one of the founding faculty members of the University of Wisconsin graduate program in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics, one of the premier graduate training programs of plant breeders worldwide. By the time he retired in 1991, 44 students had completed Ph.D.'s and 20 had completed M.S. degrees under his guidance. His work was recognized worldwide. Many of his students went on to prominent positions in plant breeding in both the public and private sectors.

Warren was an active member of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences (ASHS) from 1946 until his death, serving as President 1978-9, Chair of the Building Committee (1971-75), representative to the International Society for Horticultural Science Governing Board (1976-82) and chair of the ASHS Board of Directors (1979-80). He was co-recipient of the ASHS Marion Meadows award for outstanding graduate student research papers in 1966, 1969, 1973 and 1979, and the ASHS Environmental Quality Research Award in 1974. He was a Fellow in ASHS and in 1999 was elected to the ASHS Hall of Fame. He was also a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 2002 he received the Luther Burbank award for plant breeding from the American Horticulture Society (AHS).

Warren recognized the importance of plant germplasm resources throughout his career. From 1956-1982 he served on the regional committee on plant germplasm resources. Following the devastating effects of Southern Com Leaf Blight in 1968 he was appointed to a National Academy of Science Committee on Genetic Vulnerability of Major Crops and chaired the subcommittee on Vegetable Crops. Out of the study came the recommendation for a National Plant Genetic Resources Board, of which he was a charter member, serving for six years. He also chaired a NAS-NRC Committee on Genetic Alteration in Food Crops (1973) and was Vice Chairman of the NAS Committee on Scholarly Communication with the Peoples Republic of China (1977).

In 1976, the University of Nebraska presented him a Doctor of Sciences for his achievements in plant breeding research. In 1988, the Agricultural University in Krakow, Poland presented him with an honorary Doctorate Honoris Causa degree. In addition, two permanently endowed graduate fellowships in Plant Breeding Plant Genetics have been established at the University of Wisconsin in his name.

One of Warren’s lasting pleasures was frequent correspondence with his former students. He followed their careers and remained incredibly proud of their accomplishments. In return, his students honored their time studying with him and wrote and visited frequently. Warren was also an avid gardener with a deep knowledge of horticulture. Each spring, he and Alberta would turn the grounds of their home into beautiful garden. His winter hardy hibiscus plants were always a feature of his landscapes and were known throughout the Madison community for their beauty and elegance.

During the 1990s, Warren and Alberta built the rock garden at the Allen Centennial Garden on the UW-Madison campus and established an endowed internship there. After an illness, Alberta passed away in 2004. In recent years, Warren established a fund to support graduate students in the Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics program at UW-Madison and made a founding gift toward a new seeds facility for the university.

Over the past fourteen years, Warren and Mary Carbone established a loving friendship that has brought them and their families much joy. Warren is survived by Mary and by four nieces and two nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Alberta, parents; sisters Lois Hegstrom Hoesch, Glendoris Caauwe and Erma Peterson; brothers Deed and Homer Gabelman.

In a piece he had written about his time in the Navy, Warren quoted an old Navy poem:

How to Get to Heaven

A man knocked at the heavenly gate

His face was scarred and old

He stood before the man of fate

For admission to the fold

“What have you done?” Saint Peter asked

“To gain admission Here?”

“I have served on a destroyer sir,

For many and many a year”

The pearly gate swung open wide

Saint Peter touched the bell

“Come in and choose your harp” he said,

“You have served your time in hell!”

An article describing Warren’s career accomplishments in plant breeding can be found in the journal Plant Breeding Reviews . The citation is Bliss, F.A. 1989. Warren H. Gabelman-Horticultural Plant Breeder and Teacher. Plant Breeding Reviews. Jules Janick, Ed. 6:1-9.

Funeral services will be held at the Brian P. Harvey Funeral Home in Plattsmouth, Nebraska on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at 10:30 AM.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the services.  Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Memorials are suggested to the University of Wisconsin Foundation, 1848 University Avenue, Madison, WI  53705 to support the Gabelman Internships.