Warren Labagh

"Warren "Duke" John Labagh, 92, a long term resident of Candler, Florida, died peacefully on October 22 at Summerfield Suites in Summerfield, Florida. Duke was born February 20, 1924 in Thompson Ridge, New York as the only son to Michael and Hazel Labagh. He grew up as a dairy farmer in Pine Bush, which he had fond memories of. One of his most cherished childhood memories was of a cross-country camping trip he took to San Diego with his mom and dad, where they lived for 3 years before moving back to New York. On their return back, they visited Yosemite, Yellowstone, Chicago World's Fair, and Niagra Falls. It was this trip that instilled a love of camping in his heart.When he was 18 years old, he enlisted in the US Navy in 1942 and served in WWII in the US Navy as a Seaman, First Class. He was stationed in the Fiji Islands and was honorably discharged in 1944.After leaving the Navy, he returned to New York where he met young Mary Corrigan, who was a new school teacher at her first post in Pine Bush, NY. They later married in 1947. For their honeymoon, they took an 8-week cross-country camping trip, sharing their love of the outdoors together.Duke worked as a Pepsi-Cola delivery driver during his early-married years. He and Mary's first two children were born in New York, where they lived as a family of 4 until the early 1950s, after which they moved to West Hollywood, Florida where they had 2 more children.While living in South Florida, he performed a variety of jobs before he served as a mail carrier for the US Postal service until he retired in 1977. He then bought acreage in Candler, FL where he and his wife spent the remainder of their years enjoying their family and their peaceful surroundings.He was a man who loved nature and wanted to share that love with his family. He took his wife and kids on many camping adventures, where they fished, hiked, swam and sang together. He loved to play the harmonica and had a beautiful tenor voice. He was also a talented carpenter; from the whittling the smallest wooden doo-dad to building homes, he enjoyed creating masterpieces from wood. His love of nature and his skill in carpentry led him to spend his retirement years crafting a cabin in the beautiful mountains of Franklin, NC, where he and his wife spent many summers together, hiking the trails, watching birds, and exploring the sights of the Blue Ridge. Duke was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Mary Corrigan Labagh. He is survived by his four children: son David Labagh (Maureen) of Candler, daughter Donna Labagh of Smyrna, Georgia, daughter Dawn Labagh Lahman (Jerry) of Elberton, Georgia and son Michael Labagh (Rica) of Candler. He has seven grandchildren (Aaron Labagh, Jeremy Labagh, Nathan Labagh, Amanda Latona, Melanie Moss, Kenzie Labagh, and Elisha Labagh) and nine great-grandchildren.Visitation will be at 2:00 with a service immediately following at 2:30 on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at Roberts Funeral Home: 2739 SE Maricamp Rd, Ocala, FL 34471. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Summerfield Suites, 17421 SE 109 Terr Rd, Summerfield, FL 34491."

Warren Labagh

February 20, 1924 - October 22, 2016