Mabel K. Abbott, 89, retired exec of family-run company

Mabel Kester Abbott, 89, formerly of Meadowbrook, a retired company vice president, died of complications from Parkinson's disease Wednesday, May 19, at Southminster Retirement Community in Charlotte, N.C.

Mrs. Abbott grew up in Kensington, where her family operated the Kester Funeral Home. She graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls. After earning a bachelor's degree in home economics from Drexel University, she worked for A&P and taught in public schools in Philadelphia.

In 1942, she married Arthur C. Abbott. In the early years of their marriage, they lived in Bustleton, where she taught a women's Bible class at Bustleton Methodist Church. When they moved to Meadowbrook in 1959, she was a substitute teacher in the Lower Moreland School District.

Mrs. Abbott supported her husband's activities as an officer with Rotary International, and she volunteered at Frankford Hospital, where he served on the board. She was later a volunteer at Abington Memorial Hospital and Holy Redeemer Hospital in Huntingdon Valley. An avid gardener, she was a judge for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's city gardens competitions.

After her husband died in 1975, she helped her son, Arthur Jr., run Abbott & Cobb in Trevose. The firm, which produces vegetable and fruit seeds for commercial growers, was cofounded in 1917 by her father-in-law, Arthur W. Abbott. She retired as the firm's vice president for administration in 1998 and moved to North Carolina in 2000.

Mrs. Abbott was active with the American Association of University Women and Zonta International, an organization dedicated to the advancement of women.

In addition to her son, she is survived by a daughter, Adelle Webb; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 12, at Wayside Chapel at Whitemarsh Memorial Park, 1156 Horsham Rd., Ambler. Burial will be in Whitemarsh Memorial Park.

Donations may be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, 1333 Old Welsh Rd., Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.