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Cabe served as chairman of Sylva's solid waste committee and was a member of the street committee.
Fellow town officials this week expressed sadness over Cabe's death and praised his commitment to the citizens of Sylva.
"He was my friend," Mayor Brenda Oliver said Tuesday. "I think he was a friend to everyone. He made a great contribution to the town, and his death is a real loss."
Oliver described Cabe as "quiet and thoughtful" and said his input into board discussions was "succinct and had meaning."
Longtime town clerk Tommy Thompson and veteran board member Audrey Tritt both said they were close to Cabe.
"I loved him like a brother," said Thompson, who worked with Cabe at the old Dillard block plant more than 35 years ago. "I had a tremendous amount of respect for him, and I'll miss him. His death is a loss to the community."
Thompson said Cabe was a thoughtful board member who "voted his own conscience and not what everybody else wanted."
"Eldon was a good friend," Tritt said Monday. "He was witty and a lot of fun to be with, and he will be sorely missed."
In describing Cabe's contributions to the town board, Tritt said Cabe always worked in the best interest of the town.
"He had lots of common sense, and he listened and made his own decisions," Tritt said.
Board member Eldridge Painter, chairman of the town's street committee, said Cabe's input was helpful in formulating the current street maintenance plan.
Painter, who was elected to Sylva's board in 2001, said he'd known Cabe for years but had never worked with him until they served together on the town board.
"He was for the betterment of the town," Painter said. "It will be hard to find someone as conscientious to replace him."
Cabe's contributions to Sylva's board included stability and common sense, said board member Maurice Moody, who served on the board with Cabe for more than five years.
"He was quiet and had good ideas," Moody said. "We'll miss him on the board."
Richard McHargue, Sylva's town manager for the past 15 months and a pallbearer at Cabe's funeral, called Cabe "a good person who is definitely going to be missed.
"I always liked it when (Cabe) would come around," McHargue said. "If you were talking business, he could inject a little humor into the conversation. He liked to fish, and I liked talking about fishing with him."
Wayne Hooper, a former chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners and county manager for 16 years, remembered Cabe as "a person you could depend on."
Hooper described Cabe as a "good, honest person and a good husband, father and grandfather."
Hooper said Cabe was one of the most valuable supervisors on the county staff.
"Whatever I asked him to do, I didn't have to worry about it. It got done," Hooper said Monday. "I really appreciated Eldon."
A veteran of the U.S. Army, Cabe was a native and lifelong resident of Jackson County. The son of the late Rev. Grover and Odessa Deitz Cabe, Cabe is survived by his wife of 40 years, Anne Fisher Cabe, and four children, Bill Cabe, Cathy Foxx, Christi Young and Cindy Cabe, all of Sylva, and seven grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Sunday, March 30, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. Cabe was eulogized by one of his brothers, the Rev. Ben Cabe of Sylva, and the Rev. Robert Clegg of Barkers Creek. Both characterized Cabe as a person who was kind and fair and who had grown through the years into a community leader.
Cabe's son, Bill, also spoke, telling the overflow crowd at Sunday's service how supportive Eldon Cabe was of both his children and grandchildren.
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Cabe