Mel and Norma Gabler were

religious fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

s active in United States school textbook reform between 1961 and the 2000s based in

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County, Texas, Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County. Longview is located in East Tex ...

. Melvin Nolan Freeman Gabler was born in

Katy, Texas Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of ...

and died at age 89 on December 19, 2004, after suffering a brain hemorrhage two days prior. He served in the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II and later worked for

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...

, a precursor of

Exxon Mobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

, retiring in 1974. Norma Elizabeth Gabler () was born in

Garrett, Texas Garrett is a town in Ellis County, Texas, United States. The population was 806 at the 2010 census, up from 448 at the 2000 census. Geography Garrett is located in eastern Ellis County at (32.362055, –96.651735). It is bordered to the south ...

on June 16, 1923, and died on July 22, 2007, from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. The Gablers founded Educational Research Analysts and formally incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1973.

References

Further reading