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No services planned yet for Palatine father, son killed in Afghanistan

Father and son from Palatine slain during raid on hospital

Funeral services have not yet been planned for Gary and John Gabel, the Palatine father and son who were killed last week in Afghanistan, as both men's wives remain overseas following the deadly attack.

The two men were shot to death Thursday during an attack by an Afghan security guard at International Hospital in Kabul, where they had gone to meet pediatrician Jerry Umanos of Chicago. Umanos also was killed in the attack, and John Gabel's wife, Teresa, was wounded.

Claire Bechard, director of communications at Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights where the Gabel family attended for several decades, said memorial services have not been planned yet but declined to comment out further of respect to the family.

Gary Gabel and his wife, Betty, had gone to Kabul to visit John, his wife, Teresa, and the couple's one-year-old daughter, Laila.

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes, who has been friends with the Gabel family for more than 25 years, said Betty, who was not injured last week, and Teresa are still overseas and funerals will not be planned until they return to the United States.

Teresa Gabel is in stable condition at a hospital overseas, Hayes said. Laila was not at the scene of the attack.

John Gabel had been a visiting lecturer at Kabul University in the computer science department since 2012, said the school's vice chancellor, Mohammad Hadi Hedayati, via email.

Gabel taught a database administration course and also ran a small health clinic for Morning Star Development, a Colorado-based charity that operates medical clinics and community centers and provides economic development assistance in Afghanistan.

"We have lost a great man, a great teacher, a man who was here only to serve the Afghan people," Hedayati said of the man he described as a good friend.

Hayes said Sunday's service at Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights was an emotional one. Betty and Gary's daughter Kristen attended with other family members, and another daughter, Beth, is on her way to the suburbs from her home in Canada.

Palatine man, son killed in Afghanistan

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