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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder |image=Lonnie Stabler of TX.jpg |name= Lonnie Dean Stabler |office=Mayor of Bryan, Texas |term_start=May 6, 1995 |term_end=May..."
{{Infobox officeholder
|image=Lonnie Stabler of TX.jpg
|name= Lonnie Dean Stabler
|office=[[Mayor]] of [[Bryan, Texas|Bryan]], [[Texas]]
|term_start=May 6, 1995
|term_end=May 5, 2001
|preceded=Marvin Tate
|succeeded=Jay Don Watson
|office2=Member of the Bryan City Council
|term_start2=May 4, 1991
|term_end2=May 6, 1995
|preceded2=Kandy Rose
|succeeded2=
|birth_date=December 11, 1945
|birth_place=[Bryan, Brazos County<br>[[Texas]], USA
|spouse=(1) Karla Jean Duckett Stabler (married 1966, divorced)<br>
(2) Leona Kay Richards Stabler
|children=From first marriage:<br>
Randall D. Stabler<br>
Staci D. Stabler Groff <br>
Terri J. Stabler<br>
Step-children:<br>
Thomas B. Richards<br>
Lance E. Richards<br>
Erin J. Richards
|residence=Bryan, Texas
|death_date=December 1, 2013 (aged 67)
|death_place=Bryan, Texas
|death_cause=[[Cancer]]
|resting_place=Bryan City Cemetery
|occupation=Owner of Stabler Sign Company<br>
Residential and commercial remodeler
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
|alma_mater=Stephen F. Austin High School<br>
Allen Academy<br>
University of Houston]br>
[[Texas A&M University]]<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
John Calvin Stabler, Sr.<br>Mable Louise Davenport Stabler Patranella}}
'''Lonnie Dean Stabler''' (December 11, 1945 – December 1, 2013) was from 1995 to 2001 the [[mayor]] of his native [[Bryan, Texas|Bryan]], a city of 76,000 population located in east central [[Texas]]. From 1991 to 1995, he was a member of the Bryan City Council.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.bryantx.gov/resources/1_PAST%20OFFICIALS.pdf|title=Mayors, Council Members, and Appointed Officials, City of Bryan, Texas, 1889-Present|publisher=bryantx.gov|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>Mayor and city council positions in Texas are nonpartisan.
For more than four decades, he owned and operated Stabler Sign Company in Bryan. For thirty-five years, he was a member of the Texas Sign Association, and from 1994 to 1995, he served as the association president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kbtx.com/kbtxcares/obituaries/listings/234419601.html|title=Lonnie Dean Stabler|publisher=KBTX-TV|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
==Background==
Stabler was born to the former Mable Louise Davenport (1912-2009) and John Calvin Stabler, Sr., who died in 1950, when Lonnie was four years of age. The Stablers also had an older son, Jay Calvin Stabler, Jr. In 1951, Mable married Anthony "Tony" Patranella, Sr., by whom she bore a third son, Anthony Patranella, Jr.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theeagle/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=135531003|title=Mable Louise Patranella |publisher=legacy.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>In 1964, Lonnie Stabler graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School] in Bryan. He attended the college preparatory Allen Academy in Bryan, the University of Houston,<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.hillierfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Lonnie-Stabler/#!/Obituary|title=Obituary for Lonnie D. Stabler|publisher=hillierfuneralhome.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name=bio/> and graduated in 1969 from [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aggienetwork.com/silver-taps/136010/lonnie-stabler-69/|title=Silver Taps Notifications|publisher=aggienetwork.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
In addition to operating his sign company, Stabler was a residential and commercial remodeler in Bryan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buildzoom.com/contractor/stabler-lonnie-d|title=Stabler, Lonnie D.|publisher=buildzoom.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
Stabler was a founding member of the Westminster [[Presbyterian]] Church]], an affiliate of the [[conservative]] Presbyterian Church in America denomination, as opposed to the [[liberal]] Presbyterian
Church in the United States. Westminster opened in Bryan in January 1979.<ref name=bio/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wpcbryan.org/about/history-vision/|title=History & Vision|publisher=wpcbryan.org|accessdate=February 5, 2014}}</ref>
==Political life==
Mayor Stabler was involved in the municipal purchase of the historic LaSalle Hotel in downtown Bryan, which was subsequently sold in 2013. He pushed for the donation of the former city hall building to the Bryan Children's Museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kagstv.com/News/KAGSNews/ID/1146/Former-Bryan-Mayor-Lonnie-Stabler-Passes-Away|title=Former Bryan Mayor Lonnie Stabler Passes Away|date=December 2, 2014|publisher=KAGS-TV|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref> Stabler also worked to acquire the old federal building in Bryan. He was active in the renovation of the Carnegie Library in Bryan and the renaming of Earl Rudder Freeway in honor of former TAMU president James Earl Rudder.<ref name=bio/> Stabler worked to establish the Traditions Private Golf and Country Club adjacent to TAMU and designed by [[Jack Nicklaus]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.traditionsclub.com/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp|title=Welcome to Traditions Club|publisher=traditionsclub.com|accessdate=February 5, 2014}}</ref>
Stabler was also active in the development of the master plan for downtown Bryan. While Stabler was a city council member, Bryan changed its municipal charter to provide for the election of five council members from single-member districts.<ref name=ktbx/> Stabler was instrumental too in the development of the Austin's Colony residential complex in Bryan. He served and at times chaired many community boards, including the Metropolitan Planning Organization (1995-2000), Brazos County Health Department (1991-1995), Brazos Valley Solid Waste Management Agency (1997-2001), and the Brazos Animal Shelter (1996-2001).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kwkt.com/news/former-bryan-mayor-passes-away|title=Former Bryan Mayor Passes Away|publisher=KWKT-TV|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref> From 1996-1999 and again, after he had left office, from 2001 to 2005, Stabler was a member of the Texas Municipal Power Agency Board. From 2001 to 2006, he served on the Bryan Texas Utilities Board. Stabler was a member of the advisory board of Blinn College, which has a large branch community college campus in Bryan.<ref name=bio/>
From 2005 to 2011, he was a member of the Bryan Board of Sign Control and Appeals. He was also a member of the electrical sign task force of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.<ref name=bio/>In 2009, he was named "sign advocate" by the Texas Sign Association.<ref name=tsa>{{cite web|url=http://www.txsigns.org/profservices.php|title=TSA Sign Advocate|publisher=txsigns.org|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>In 2013, Stabler was involved with Bill 1352 in the Texas House of Representatives and Bill 893 in thestate Senate, which establish procedures for the electrical licensing of signs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.signweb.com/content/lonnie-stabler-1946-2013|author=Wade Swormstedt|title=Lonnie Stabler: Sign-company owner and mayor of Bryan|date=December 3, 2013|publisher=signweb.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
==Death and legacy==
Stabler died of [[cancer]] in Bryan ten days shy of his sixty-eighth birthday.<ref name=ktbx>{{cite web|url=http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Former-Bryan-Mayor-Lonnie-Stabler-Loses-Battle-With-Cancer-234129801.html|title=Former Bryan Mayor Lonnie Stabler Loses Battle with Cancer|date=December 2, 2013|publisher=KBTX-TV|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
Stabler was first married in 1966 to the former Karla Jean Duckett (born 1948) of College Station, the mother of his children, Randall D. Stabler and wife Jennifer of Round Rock, Texas, Staci D. Stabler Groff and husband David of College Station, and Terri J. Stabler of Allen, Texas. From his second and surviving wife, Leona Kay Stabler, the executive director of the Texas Sign Association,<ref name=tsa/>he acquired step-children, Thomas B. Richards and wife Angie, Lance E. Richards and wife Robyn, and Erin J. Richards, all of Bryan.<ref name=bio/>
Services were held at the large Central [[Baptist]] Church in Bryan. He is interred at Bryan City Cemetery.<ref name=bio/>
Later Bryan Mayor Jason P. Bienksi referred to Stabler as "a true public servant [who] always put the betterment of the city before his own needs. He brought tremendous business acumen to the city council and was hugely instrumental in bringing about a renewed business interest in downtown Bryan in particular. He will be sorely missed. ...<ref name=ktbx/>
The ''[[Bryan-College Station Eagle]]'' staff writer Beth Brown reflected on Stabler's legacy:
"[More than] a decade removed from his last term [as mayor of Bryan], Stabler's fingerprints are still all over the city -- in the revitalized downtown, in the booming Traditions area, and even in the city council election process."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/article_d07046e5-d30a-5c29-af00-392a998116e4.html|title=Beth Brown, Former Bryan Mayor Lonnie Stabler dies at 67|date=December 3, 2013|publisher=''[[Bryan-College Station Eagle]]''|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stabler, Lonnie}}
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Presbyterians]]
|image=Lonnie Stabler of TX.jpg
|name= Lonnie Dean Stabler
|office=[[Mayor]] of [[Bryan, Texas|Bryan]], [[Texas]]
|term_start=May 6, 1995
|term_end=May 5, 2001
|preceded=Marvin Tate
|succeeded=Jay Don Watson
|office2=Member of the Bryan City Council
|term_start2=May 4, 1991
|term_end2=May 6, 1995
|preceded2=Kandy Rose
|succeeded2=
|birth_date=December 11, 1945
|birth_place=[Bryan, Brazos County<br>[[Texas]], USA
|spouse=(1) Karla Jean Duckett Stabler (married 1966, divorced)<br>
(2) Leona Kay Richards Stabler
|children=From first marriage:<br>
Randall D. Stabler<br>
Staci D. Stabler Groff <br>
Terri J. Stabler<br>
Step-children:<br>
Thomas B. Richards<br>
Lance E. Richards<br>
Erin J. Richards
|residence=Bryan, Texas
|death_date=December 1, 2013 (aged 67)
|death_place=Bryan, Texas
|death_cause=[[Cancer]]
|resting_place=Bryan City Cemetery
|occupation=Owner of Stabler Sign Company<br>
Residential and commercial remodeler
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
|alma_mater=Stephen F. Austin High School<br>
Allen Academy<br>
University of Houston]br>
[[Texas A&M University]]<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
John Calvin Stabler, Sr.<br>Mable Louise Davenport Stabler Patranella}}
'''Lonnie Dean Stabler''' (December 11, 1945 – December 1, 2013) was from 1995 to 2001 the [[mayor]] of his native [[Bryan, Texas|Bryan]], a city of 76,000 population located in east central [[Texas]]. From 1991 to 1995, he was a member of the Bryan City Council.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.bryantx.gov/resources/1_PAST%20OFFICIALS.pdf|title=Mayors, Council Members, and Appointed Officials, City of Bryan, Texas, 1889-Present|publisher=bryantx.gov|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>Mayor and city council positions in Texas are nonpartisan.
For more than four decades, he owned and operated Stabler Sign Company in Bryan. For thirty-five years, he was a member of the Texas Sign Association, and from 1994 to 1995, he served as the association president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kbtx.com/kbtxcares/obituaries/listings/234419601.html|title=Lonnie Dean Stabler|publisher=KBTX-TV|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
==Background==
Stabler was born to the former Mable Louise Davenport (1912-2009) and John Calvin Stabler, Sr., who died in 1950, when Lonnie was four years of age. The Stablers also had an older son, Jay Calvin Stabler, Jr. In 1951, Mable married Anthony "Tony" Patranella, Sr., by whom she bore a third son, Anthony Patranella, Jr.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theeagle/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=135531003|title=Mable Louise Patranella |publisher=legacy.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>In 1964, Lonnie Stabler graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School] in Bryan. He attended the college preparatory Allen Academy in Bryan, the University of Houston,<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.hillierfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Lonnie-Stabler/#!/Obituary|title=Obituary for Lonnie D. Stabler|publisher=hillierfuneralhome.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name=bio/> and graduated in 1969 from [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aggienetwork.com/silver-taps/136010/lonnie-stabler-69/|title=Silver Taps Notifications|publisher=aggienetwork.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
In addition to operating his sign company, Stabler was a residential and commercial remodeler in Bryan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buildzoom.com/contractor/stabler-lonnie-d|title=Stabler, Lonnie D.|publisher=buildzoom.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
Stabler was a founding member of the Westminster [[Presbyterian]] Church]], an affiliate of the [[conservative]] Presbyterian Church in America denomination, as opposed to the [[liberal]] Presbyterian
Church in the United States. Westminster opened in Bryan in January 1979.<ref name=bio/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wpcbryan.org/about/history-vision/|title=History & Vision|publisher=wpcbryan.org|accessdate=February 5, 2014}}</ref>
==Political life==
Mayor Stabler was involved in the municipal purchase of the historic LaSalle Hotel in downtown Bryan, which was subsequently sold in 2013. He pushed for the donation of the former city hall building to the Bryan Children's Museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kagstv.com/News/KAGSNews/ID/1146/Former-Bryan-Mayor-Lonnie-Stabler-Passes-Away|title=Former Bryan Mayor Lonnie Stabler Passes Away|date=December 2, 2014|publisher=KAGS-TV|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref> Stabler also worked to acquire the old federal building in Bryan. He was active in the renovation of the Carnegie Library in Bryan and the renaming of Earl Rudder Freeway in honor of former TAMU president James Earl Rudder.<ref name=bio/> Stabler worked to establish the Traditions Private Golf and Country Club adjacent to TAMU and designed by [[Jack Nicklaus]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.traditionsclub.com/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp|title=Welcome to Traditions Club|publisher=traditionsclub.com|accessdate=February 5, 2014}}</ref>
Stabler was also active in the development of the master plan for downtown Bryan. While Stabler was a city council member, Bryan changed its municipal charter to provide for the election of five council members from single-member districts.<ref name=ktbx/> Stabler was instrumental too in the development of the Austin's Colony residential complex in Bryan. He served and at times chaired many community boards, including the Metropolitan Planning Organization (1995-2000), Brazos County Health Department (1991-1995), Brazos Valley Solid Waste Management Agency (1997-2001), and the Brazos Animal Shelter (1996-2001).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kwkt.com/news/former-bryan-mayor-passes-away|title=Former Bryan Mayor Passes Away|publisher=KWKT-TV|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref> From 1996-1999 and again, after he had left office, from 2001 to 2005, Stabler was a member of the Texas Municipal Power Agency Board. From 2001 to 2006, he served on the Bryan Texas Utilities Board. Stabler was a member of the advisory board of Blinn College, which has a large branch community college campus in Bryan.<ref name=bio/>
From 2005 to 2011, he was a member of the Bryan Board of Sign Control and Appeals. He was also a member of the electrical sign task force of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.<ref name=bio/>In 2009, he was named "sign advocate" by the Texas Sign Association.<ref name=tsa>{{cite web|url=http://www.txsigns.org/profservices.php|title=TSA Sign Advocate|publisher=txsigns.org|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>In 2013, Stabler was involved with Bill 1352 in the Texas House of Representatives and Bill 893 in thestate Senate, which establish procedures for the electrical licensing of signs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.signweb.com/content/lonnie-stabler-1946-2013|author=Wade Swormstedt|title=Lonnie Stabler: Sign-company owner and mayor of Bryan|date=December 3, 2013|publisher=signweb.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
==Death and legacy==
Stabler died of [[cancer]] in Bryan ten days shy of his sixty-eighth birthday.<ref name=ktbx>{{cite web|url=http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Former-Bryan-Mayor-Lonnie-Stabler-Loses-Battle-With-Cancer-234129801.html|title=Former Bryan Mayor Lonnie Stabler Loses Battle with Cancer|date=December 2, 2013|publisher=KBTX-TV|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
Stabler was first married in 1966 to the former Karla Jean Duckett (born 1948) of College Station, the mother of his children, Randall D. Stabler and wife Jennifer of Round Rock, Texas, Staci D. Stabler Groff and husband David of College Station, and Terri J. Stabler of Allen, Texas. From his second and surviving wife, Leona Kay Stabler, the executive director of the Texas Sign Association,<ref name=tsa/>he acquired step-children, Thomas B. Richards and wife Angie, Lance E. Richards and wife Robyn, and Erin J. Richards, all of Bryan.<ref name=bio/>
Services were held at the large Central [[Baptist]] Church in Bryan. He is interred at Bryan City Cemetery.<ref name=bio/>
Later Bryan Mayor Jason P. Bienksi referred to Stabler as "a true public servant [who] always put the betterment of the city before his own needs. He brought tremendous business acumen to the city council and was hugely instrumental in bringing about a renewed business interest in downtown Bryan in particular. He will be sorely missed. ...<ref name=ktbx/>
The ''[[Bryan-College Station Eagle]]'' staff writer Beth Brown reflected on Stabler's legacy:
"[More than] a decade removed from his last term [as mayor of Bryan], Stabler's fingerprints are still all over the city -- in the revitalized downtown, in the booming Traditions area, and even in the city council election process."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/article_d07046e5-d30a-5c29-af00-392a998116e4.html|title=Beth Brown, Former Bryan Mayor Lonnie Stabler dies at 67|date=December 3, 2013|publisher=''[[Bryan-College Station Eagle]]''|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stabler, Lonnie}}
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Presbyterians]]