Gabrielle Lee Rowe

She lived a beautiful, creative life in the face of a long and cruel illness. Her daily and deepest joy was her son, Isaac. She grew up largely in Goldsboro, N.C., attended Wake Forest University, graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a degree in English literature, and earned a Master’s in Education from Princeton Seminary. She married Kavin Rowe 26 years ago, and knew his soul.

Gabrielle was the eldest of six children born to Dr. Joe and Mrs. Pam Ponzi, of Goldsboro. She leaves behind sisters Lora Geer, Alysia Yates, Gina Fornecker, Breanna Linn, and their husbands and many children, as well as brother Joey Ponzi and his wife, Sarah, and their children. Gabrielle was also very close to her mother-in-law, Betty B. Rowe (“Bear”) of Greensboro.

Her chief pleasures in life besides her son were mature friendships, books, hymns/chants, and flowers. She was that breed of Christian whose faith was lively and unswerving while also intellectually profound and devoid of sentimental pieties in the face of suffering and of questions that remain unanswered on earth. Her life of hope was an inspiration.

The family would like to thank the Duke Hospice team for their remarkable compassion and care. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a charitable donation to Duke Hospice.

There will be a visitation at the Hall-Wynne Funeral Service at 1113 West Main Street, Durham, North Carolina, on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. A private graveside service will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023.

The Rowe family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service. Online condolences: www.hallwynne.com — select obituaries.