Cliff Buchan
News Editor

With the exception of his family, there were only two things that Frank Gabrick loved the most: Linwood Township and Anoka County.

Gabrick was just 10 when he moved with his family from Minneapolis to a farm homestead in Linwood Township. Gabrick, who spent his life on and near to the 280-acre home place, died on Sunday, Feb. 4. He was 90.

Gabrick spent half of his 80 years in Linwood working for Anoka County. From 1948 until his retirement in 1978, he was shop foreman for the Anoka County Highway Department. It was a tenure that spanned the days of many gravel roads to the modern highway system that the county manages today.

It was a job that meant much to Frank Gabrick, said his son, Richard of Linwood.

"They started out in an old pickle factory in Anoka," Gabrick said of his father's early work days in Anoka.

It was 1938 when Gabrick signed on with the county as a private contractor. He owned an open cab dump truck and it was used to help in the construction and repair of roads in the still-rural areas of Anoka County.

"He enjoyed that part of his life," Gabrick said of his father. "He really enjoyed his work. He was a great fixer."

He was named shop foreman in 1948 and held that job for 30 years. As shop foreman, he was charged with making sure the highway department fleet was in top working condition.

Richard Gabrick said his father's attention to sound fiscal management and keeping the fleet in good condition did not go unnoticed in Anoka County. "Any where you were in Anoka County, they knew my dad," Gabrick said.

Linwood life

It was 1927 when Frank Gabrick's parents, Michael and Anna Gabrick moved to the farm in Linwood. Both were from Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the United States.

They became the parents of 10 kids and lived in the Mississippi Flats area of Minneapolis before moving to Linwood.

The Gabricks ran a full farm operation in the early days, growing crops and milking dairy cows.

Along with the main farming lines, the Gabricks also raised chickens and sold eggs produced by the flock of 1000 birds. The farm egg sale was headed by Anna Gabrick.

Frank Gabrick attended the Carlisle School in Linwood through the eighth grade and eventually took over operation of the farm. A serious motorcycle accident in 1942 left him hospitalized for nearly a year and prevented his military service during World War II.

In 1943 he married Beatrice Carlisle, another Linwood resident.

He worked the farm with the help of his wife and children through most of his work days in Anoka. The dairy operation eventually switched to beef cattle.

During the 1960s he spent nine years on the Linwood Town Board, including stints as town board chairman.

When he retired in 1978, Frank and his wife moved to a new home on Linwood Lake. They recently moved back to the original Gabrick homestead, living in a small home adjacent to Richard Gabrick's home.

Funeral details

A funeral service for Frank Gabrick will take place at 11 a.m., Friday, Feb. 9 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 5879 Wyoming Trail, Wyoming.

Visitation is set from 5-8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 8 at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake, and one hour prior to the service at the church on Friday.

Gabrick is survived by his wife of 64 years, Beatrice; children Suzanne (Dennis) Nelson, Battle Lake, Richard (Bev) Gabrick, Linwood, Mike (Betty) Gabrick, Linwood, and Greg (Debbie) Gabrick, White Bear Lake; 11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren; brothers Andy (Marge) Gabrick, Minneapolis, and Al (Dorothy) Gabrick, Brea, CA; one sister, Helen Fruetel, Hopkins; and many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers and three sisters.

Memorials are preferred to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wyoming.

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