Head grower at Gabrielsen’s farm, Kristina Gabrielsen, dies at 49

Kristina “Tina” Gabrielsen, the head grower at Gabrielsen’s farm in Jamesport, died Sunday, Sept. 28, after a short battle with an aggressive cancer. She was 49.

According to her family, Kristina was never still. No matter the occasion, she motivated everyone around her to get up and do something.

“There’s no sitting around, she’d have you off up the hill, she’d have you off skiing downhill,” said her father, George Gabrielsen. “She just explodes. Everywhere she went, it was like the center of the universe.”

This energy extended throughout her community. She participated in the Riverhead cardboard boat race, gathered and donated roses for the Valentine’s party at the senior center in Aquebogue, and beautified Veterans Memorial Park with plantings from Gabrielsen’s farm.

Ms. Gabrielsen’s love for the family business started early. She shadowed her paternal grandmother, Helena Gabrielsen, to wholesalers and learned to run the farm stand at age 12. As she grew, she passed her knowledge on to her siblings, including her youngest sister, 35-year-old Stephanie Smith.

“She was my mentor since I was a little kid, because we both have always done this our whole life. So, Kristina has left a really big impact on my life because she taught me everything,” Ms. Smith said. “She was our grower, so [I asked her] any time I had a question: ‘How do I maintain this plant or feed this plant?’ or ‘What gets planted?’”

Her brother, Robert Gabrielsen, 46, remembers being close from a young age and spending almost all their time at the farm.

“We kind of grew up together, literally, in the greenhouses. We were building peat moss and straw bale forts,” he recalled. “I think that this is where we learned our work ethic. We never ever fought; if we got into a spat, the moment we stopped talking it was over.”

According to their father, Ms. Smith and her older sister were in the process of taking over the flower farm. 

“I think it is Gabrielsen and daughters; it’s actually the girls. I was ready to almost walk away from this, and Tina and Stephanie, they were taking it over,” he said. “So it’s a wrinkle, now. But through Steph, I think she can do it.”

Ms. Gabrielsen credited a divine source for her unbridled enthusiasm. She had recently returned from a mission trip to Fiji where she built greenhouses and taught local farmers about hydroponic growing techniques.

“Something that always stuck out to me was her joy. And I remember there was a customer that came here and said, ‘How do you have so much joy?’ And she was like, ‘Well, that’s God that’s within me.’ And no matter what, she always had that,” said her middle sister, Georgia Gabrielsen, 39.

As part of a tight-knit group of siblings, Tina Gabrielsen was an enthusiastic outdoorswoman who constantly brought her family along for adventures. She introduced Georgia to ziplining despite her sister’s reluctance, taught nieces and nephews to snowboard during upstate trips, and created lasting memories through gingerbread house traditions and spontaneous camping visits.

“I feel like we did everything. There was a lot of love between us. We traveled the country together,” said Georgia Gabrielsen. “We went to church together every week. I lived with her for a little bit of time, and I feel like we just did life together.”

Both Ms. Smith and Robert Gabrielsen’s children were close to their Aunt Kristina, who never hesitated to give of herself to make them feel loved and cared for.

“She gave of her time,” her brother said. “She was really good to the kids.”

She also passed her devotion to family and service on to her son, Andre Vega Jr., who remembers the time and care she gave him. Just before he began high school, they rented a camper and took a month to drive to California and back. His mother taught him to snowboard and made sure he was making memories.

“She just emphasized putting in family time rather than work a little extra to get a brand new car. She didn’t care about that, but she cared about creating memories and taking me all around the world,” said Mr. Vega. “It was never, like, just sit home. It’s ‘gotta go out and experience life.’”

Mr. Vega is now a registered nurse, and he credits his mom for encouraging him to be the best person possible, even when no one is watching.

“My mom fostered the care she seen in me and she really instilled helping others even if nobody sees your good act, you’re not doing it for recognition, you’re doing it to make somebody’s else’s life better,” said Mr. Vega.

Her brother said that Kristina was the one who organized gatherings and made arrangements that brought the family together.

“She was always like the leader,” Mr. Gabrielsen said. “She would always try to get everybody together to meet somewhere for games or whatever.”

No matter the problem, she would try to find a solution. Her dad often found her fixing piping or trying to repair a boiler. She was always looking to solve problems.

“If there was a dam that was leaking, everybody else would run,” George Gabrielsen recalled. “She’d be standing there with a finger in it until she figured out how to fix it. Everyone else would run, she’d be right there in the middle of it.”

Kristina is survived by her parents, George and Janice Gabrielsen; her son, Andre Vega Jr.; her siblings, Robert Gabrielsen, Georgia Gabrielsen, and Stephanie Smith; and her nieces and nephews.

A procession will depart from the DeFriest-Grattan funeral home in Mattituck on Thursday morning, Oct. 2, followed by a graveside service at Sound Avenue Cemetery.