Gabriel J. Scala | Quarry owner, 78

Gabriel J. Scala, 78, a retired quarry owner formerly of Media, died of liver disease March 22 at home in Sarasota, Fla.

Mr. Scala lettered in four sports at Media High School. After graduation, he played semipro football for the Media Hurricanes. During the Korean War, he served in the Marine Corps in Korea.

He turned down athletic scholarships to join his father's masonry business, said his wife, Joan Van Albert Scala. Later, he established the Media Quarry Co. with his father, John, and his brother, also John. The firm supplied mica for many local structures, including buildings at Villanova, St. Joseph's and Drexel Universities. He retired in 1985.

For 20 years, Mr. Scala coached youth basketball, baseball and football in Media.

He took up golf in his 40s, his wife said, and was an avid player. He was a former member of the Springfield Country Club in Delaware County and the Meadows Country Club in Florida, where he hit a hole-in-one. He and his wife moved to Florida in the late 1980s.

In addition to his wife of 50 years and his brother, Mr. Scala is survived by nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Rigby Harting & Hagan Funeral Home, 15 E. Fourth St., Media, where friends may call after 9:30.