Gabriel David Conde

November 2, 1995 – April 30, 2018

Our beloved Gabriel David Conde was born at home in Belton, Mo., on Nov. 2, 1995. Gabe gave his life for his fellow American and Afghan soldiers in the Tagab district, Kapisa province of Afghanistan on April 30, 2018. Gabe was 22 years old.

Gabe Conde

Missouri was Gabe’s home until the summer of 2009, when he moved with his family to Berthoud Colo. Although he left behind precious friends in Missouri, he “came alive” in Colorado. He loved hiking, mountain biking and hunting, and he quickly gained new friends through his involvement in band, wrestling, cross-country, and track.

During high school he went on three mission trips with Grace Place church to Madera, a small town in Mexico, where Gabe found great joy and purpose in helping the people in tangible ways. He spoke of how he enjoyed helping people who could not repay him as a way of honoring God in his life.

Gabe excelled academically at Berthoud High School, and he attended Colorado School of Mines as a freshman in 2014-2015. However, he was not satisfied with “wasting time in school” while he contemplated his dream of becoming a Green Beret.

He enlisted as an 18X (special forces) recruit and completed basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., in 2015. He went on to special-forces training at Fort Bragg, N.C., in January 2016, but was dropped in selection. He then was stationed at JBER in Anchorage Alaska, where he remained until his deployment to Afghanistan in September 2017.

In the short time he spent in Afghanistan, Gabe was fortunate to do some things he always wanted to do, in keeping with his warrior instinct to defend the weak and to “vanquish evil.” He also spoke warmly of befriending several Afghan Army soldiers and of the rugged beauty of the landscape beyond the war-torn contested lands.

Gabe is fiercely loved by many people. He leaves behind his parents, Bob and Donna Conde, and his younger sisters, Olivia and Priscilla Conde, all of Loveland Colo. He is also survived by his grandmother, Carolyn Schaumburg, of Greenville Tenn., and his grandparents, Robert and Angie Conde, of Greeley, Colo. The many members of his extended family will also miss him deeply.

Excerpt tribute from Olivia posted on Facebook:

… Remember his heart, his bravery, his loyalty. Remember his fiery love and immutable sense of justice. Remember his endearing bravado and unsubtle gentleness. Remember his wit and goofiness, his cowboy hat and boots, his duster and cut-off jean shorts. Remember the intensity of his eyes, his affinity for danger, and his tendency to frolic around in the wilderness (and by frolic I mean shoot various weapons and pose dramatically atop mountains). Remember the wisdom he would so generously bestow upon us whether we listened or not. Remember his surprising artistic and poetic talent, his passionate singing voice, and his inexplicable obsession with Wolverine movies. Remember his inflated but much-deserved ego. Remember his strength, both physical and spiritual, his near-perfections, and the shortcomings that kept him human. But if you remember nothing else, remember his love for God and unwavering devotion to His glory. Gabe’s legacy will be one of valor and heroism in battle as well as in his daily walk with God, which shone through his fierce love for his friends and family, and through the sacrifice he made for our freedom. He’s having a blast in heaven right now, and by God’s grace I have experienced a glimpse of that inexpressible joy. I grieve Earth’s loss of a great warrior, but I rejoice in Heaven’s gain of a great worshiper.

Please keep praying, keep remembering, keep grieving as long as you need to, but also keep rejoicing. May God’s peace be with all of you, and may you see His goodness even in this.

The family asks in lieu of flowers, you might consider a gift to the Gabriel David Conde Memorial Fund. Gabe’s Passion was to protect and provide for those who needed it. This fund will not only provide for his sister’s future, but also support organizations that are actively rescuing children enslaved as child soldiers and in the sex slave industry.  Checks can be mailed or dropped off at Howe Mortuary, 439 Coffman St., Longmont, CO  80501, or any First Bank.