Jim Gabbard described as 'a super guy'

When Nick Karazsia looks back on those who helped shape him as an educator, he can't help but remember Jim Gabbard.

"Jim was a super guy. I really feel privileged he was the principal who hired me as a social studies teacher and coach," Karazsia -- the current Linton-Stockton High School principal who will take over as superintendent Jan. 1 -- said before school Tuesday morning. "I've always been thankful that he gave this young kid, at least I was young at the time, an opportunity to come here and teach (in 1979).

"He was a good mentor, a good educational leader, and was concerned about the kids and wanted to do what was best for the students and school. Plus he was great in the community. He was involved with a lot of activities."

Gabbard, who spent 39 years as an educator, died Saturday at his home in Port Orange, Fla. His funeral will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Voss & Sons Funeral Service in Seymour, and he will be buried at Fairview Cemetery in Linton. Graveside service will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Gabbard was Linton-Stockton High School's principal from 1967 to 1980, and when he left, Craig Glenn was principal for one year before taking over as superintendent. Carl Floyd took over from Glenn, followed by Curt Freeman and then Karazsia.

Bob Craig, a social studies teacher and former coach at the high school, was hired the same year as Karazsia. He remembers Gabbard as being laid-back.

"He was an easy-going person," Craig recalled. "He was laid-back, easy going, accessible, and I think he was easy to work for."

Craig said Gabbard's personality probably allowed him to remain in education as long as he did.

"Some govern with a little more intensity, but he governed with a laid-back style. I think that allowed him to stay in education a long time," Craig explained.

"He wasn't real intense, but I'm sure he could be."

Karazsia agreed, adding that Gabbard allowed teachers to do their job.

"He let the teachers do what they needed to do to get the job done, and he was always there to support them if they had difficulty and backed them up," Karazsia explained. "He was always thinking about the kids and doing things for the kids. He was there for them.

"And he was a presence in the school. He wasn't one of these people you never see. The kids saw him and the teachers knew him."

Gabbard was born in Kentucky, and later moved to Ohio and then Indiana. He graduated from Versailles High School in 1954 where he was a basketball standout. He was inducted into the Ripley County High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

He graduated from Franklin College.

Gabbard received the prestigious Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 2004 for his work in education.

He is survived by his wife, Charlotte, three children, Lisa Wingfield of Parkersburg, W.V., Kenneth Gabbard of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Elizabeth Colburn of Rockford, Ill., and two stepchildren Kenneth Holtsclaw of Bloomfield, Ill., and Charlotte Smith of Vincennes.

Condolences may be shared with the Gabbard family at www.lohmanfuneralhomes.com .