Richard D'Arcy Abele

Richard D’Arcy Abele, long time resident of Marietta, Ohio, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family on Saturday, February 7, 2026. He was born October 26, 1929, in Moscow, Idaho, to Louis T. Abele and Kathleen Rounsefell Wilke Abele. His father was teaching geology at the University of Idaho at the time. Until the age of 5, Richard lived in Idaho and California until the family moved back to Ohio. His father joined the Civilian Corps of Engineers in 1935 in Zanesville, and the family lived on a farm in Adamsville while he worked as an engineer on the dams on the Muskingum Conservancy District. When the dams were completed, the family moved as his Corps of Engineers’ projects took him to York, PA; Baltimore, MD; Richmond, VA; and Decatur, GA, before his father resigned from the Corps in 1944 and returned to his farm and the orchard he started in 1935 in Adamsville.

Richard graduated from Lash High School in Zanesville in 1946, attended Washington and Jefferson College for one year, and then graduated from the Ohio State University in 1951 with a B.S. degree in Engineering. He was elected to Tau Beta Pi, a honorary engineering fraternity, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Reserve. He married Mona Jean Downing of Zanesville on June 9, 1951, and was called to active duty in October 1951. After being stationed at Fort Belvoir and Fort Leonard Wood, he was deployed to South Korea as a platoon leader in Company D, 120th Combat Engineer Battalion, 45th Infantry Division. He became Company Commander six months later and was awarded the Commendation Medal and Bronze Star Medal before leaving Korea. He was assigned to Fort Meade and was discharged from active duty in July 1953 and resigned his commission in the reserves with the rank of Captain in 1963. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion Post 0888.

His career as an engineer and manager began with Oliver Corp., then Detroit Harvester Corp., Jones Metal Products, Penn Metal, Wheeling Corrugating Co., and Dravo/Connex Corp., retiring in 1991. He was an Eagle Scout as a boy, was a Scoutmaster in Zanesville and Coshocton, and was elected to the Order of the Arrow. He was active at Campus Martius Museum in the Friends of the Museums and as a tour guide for over 25 years. He enjoyed tracing families who lived or traveled through Washington County. He enjoyed hunting and fishing as a boy and skiing, tennis, and golf in his later years. He loved to travel in the U.S. and overseas with family and, while working for Dravo, traveled to many countries on business.

He is survived by his children: Ann Abele, Rick Abele (Lauren), and Adam Abele (Jeannine); four grandchildren: Nicole Manz (Brad), Kathleen Schisler (Matt), Eric Stoltz (Anne), and Alexandra Sherwood (Andrew); eight great-grandchildren: Shane and Keegan Manz, Ryan and Ally Schisler, and Jackson, Quinn, Ty, and Sadie Stoltz; two brothers-in-law Jack (Gwen) Downing and Dave Downing (Lori Clark); sister-in-law Phyllis Abele; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mona, who passed away in July 2024; his parents; brother Louis E. Abele; sister-in-law Joann Downing; in-laws Denzil and Vernice Downing; and son-in-law Paul Leiter.

Visitation for friends and family will be held from 5-7 pm on Friday, February 13 at Cawley & Peoples Funeral Home in Marietta, Ohio. A private family service will be held at a later date.

The family extends special thanks to the caregivers of Right at Home for their dedicated service and support over the past few years, especially Armindia and Kenzie, as well as to Amedisys Hospice for their compassionate comfort care over the past several years, especially Jen.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Campus Martius Museum, https://mariettamuseums.org/donate-now/, or to a veterans’ organization of your choice.

Cawley & Peoples is honored to serve the Abele family and offers online condolences by visiting their website, www.CawleyandPeoples.com or by following their Facebook page.