Ingeborg Kolbeck Gabouer | Obituary

Adored mother and grandmother Inge Gabouer passed away surrounded by loved ones on March 3, 2022, at the age of 96, in Auburn, WA.

Inge was born Ingeborg Kolbeck in Nurnberg, Germany on October 9th, 1925. After growing up in Nurnberg during WWII, as a young adult she worked for the American Office of the Chief of Counsel for War Crimes translating and typing handwritten courtroom transcripts during the Nurnberg War Trials.

Setting out to build her future Inge traveled to Ellis Island, NY in 1955. She was married in Chicago, started her family, and eventually settled in Renton, Washington where she lived for more than fifty years a full and very social life.

Inge worked as a budget analyst for Boeing Aerospace and was highly regarded by her employers as being hard working and dependable. In her leisure time, Inge loved hitting the mountain slopes, tending to her garden, socializing with friends, and doing aerobics several times a week (which she did well into her eighties). Always a gracious host, Inge adored being of service to her family and friends. Forever a people person she was generous, kind and quick to laugh.

When asked about the most important lesson she learned in her remarkable lifetime, Inge answered, “Life is not something you plan, it is something you are thankful for.” She was a person who never wasted a moment of her life, who didn’t need a lot, and who was always grateful for what she had.

Inge was an incredible woman. Everybody loved her, and she will be dearly missed.

She was preceded in death by her husband Larry; her siblings Rudy & Frieda; and is survived by her children Terri Gabouer Turnbow, Mark (Diane) Gabouer; five grandchildren; Shana Kemp, Kyle (Andrea) Gabouer, Eric Gabouer, Raquel (Paul) Noonan, Rebecca Turnbow, and her great grandchildren; Lelu, Julian, Alexandria, Opal, and Oliver.

A celebration of her life will be held on June 12th 1:00 P.M. at The Gabouer Lodge 5101 Heather Ave SE Auburn, WA 98092 Inge will be laid to rest at Tahoma National Cemetery.