Gabriella Marie "Gabby" Calabrese

Ms. Gabriella Marie “Gabby” Calabrese, 29, of Elkhart, passed away quietly on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 9:18 pm at Elkhart General Hospital following an unexpected sudden illness only days before. Born in Elkhart on August 6, 1992, Gabby was the daughter of Linda S. (Jerry Bucher) Carroll of Leesburg and Anthony M. “Tony” Calabrese of Bristol.

Also surviving Gabby are her two sons, 8 year old Bryson Calabrese and 4 year old Carter Farmer, both of Elkhart; her sister Felicia (Nick) Williams of Goshen; her uncle James “Jim” Calabrese of Elkhart; nephews Aiden and Riley Williams of Goshen, and a heaping helping of extended family, good friends and work colleagues who loved her very much. She is preceded in death by grandparents Joseph and Cleona Calabrese and Marilyn Vela. Incidentally, Gabby will also be greatly missed by her pals Mia and Abbey, a shepherd-mix and border collie respectively, and by Sparkles the cat, who currently is unable to be reached for comment.

Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Elkhart will be hosting Gabby’s Celebration of Life Service on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 2:00 pm, with a gathering of family and friends beginning there at 11am. The Reverend Kenny Rogers, who is part of Gabby’s family, will be officiating and cremation will follow her services.

Gabby was vivacious, outgoing, loud, unabashed and definitely uncensored, and she rocked that persona because, well, that was just who Gabby was. Kind of like a modern-day Unsinkable Molly Brown. She lived life to the fullest, and her contagious zest for living seemed to affect everyone she came in contact with. Fiercely independent, stubborn and headstrong, (some would say she was a carbon-copy of her dad), Gabby liked to do things her way, and although it seemed that she had a bit of a rough exterior, everyone would agree that she had a heart of gold. Her mom always joked that Gabby had selective hearing and was always too busy to process the little snippets of life advice that Linda would give her. “Yeah, Yeah, yeah, Mom,” Gabby would say, and leave it at that.

To Gabby, those she loved always came first, and her boys were the apple of her eye. She enjoyed spending time with them, whether it was at home doing TikTok videos or maybe taking a trip to the Potawatomi Zoo to check out the peacocks and other critters. She also had a close relationship with her sister Felicia, and although Felicia was a bit older, Gabby always loved giving Felicia “the business”, but boy, watch out if anyone was harassing her sis because the lil’ wolverine in her came out real quick! Another “perennial favorite” was her Uncle Jim, from whom she learned all things mechanical and maintenance-related. In return, Gabby would regularly help her uncle take care of his farm and manage several dozen families of peacocks handed down by her late Grandpa Joe.

Gabby had become a recent homeowner, and she absolutely loved the little home that she had made for herself, Bryson and Carter. She spent hours inside and out, just decorating and spot cleaning. She also became very attached to the songbirds and the ducks that would frequent her yard, and actually would worry if they were getting enough to eat.

When she had time for herself, Gabby was a HUGE Chicago Bears football fan and a hard-core Halloween haunted house aficionado.

As perhaps an interesting point to close Gabby’s life story with, it should be noted that Gabby’s mom and sister have been staying at Gabby’s house since her passing to feel “close” to her. Upon looking at her daughter’s neat home, clean furnishings and stacks upon stacks of organized important paperwork, Linda began to realize that all of those little snippets of advice that she used to give to Gabby  --  all of that motherly coaching  that she thought went in one ear and out the other  --  came around full circle, pleasing her mom to no end that all those years of parenting resonated in Gabby’s mind.  

 Friends and family wishing to make a donation in Gabby’s memory may do so by donating to the Humane Society of Elkhart County or to the cause of one’s choice. Additionally, please be sure to thoroughly browse Gabby’s obit page, as you are able to leave condolences and memories, post photographs on her memory wall, and order other funerary items in regard to the family.

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