Obituary of Wilbur Lloyd Tabor

At age, 82, Wilbur Lloyd Tabor died peacefully Monday, September 10, in the Vista Center at Lovelace Hospital from complications related to kidney failure and diabetes. He is survived by his wife, Darlee, son Bret and wife Deb (of Albuquerque), son Jerry and wife Pamela (of Grasonville, MD), daughter Ann Mixter (of Austin, TX), six grandchildren, and his two younger sisters, Patsy Griffith (of Carlsbad, NM) and Gervadine Bradley (of Prairie Grove, AR). He was a beloved member of his church family at the North East Church of Christ. Most will remember Wil for his kind and encouraging spirit and his ability to strike up and hold a conversation with anyoneâ€even strangers. His constant mindfulness of loved ones was a hallmark of his personality. Born in 1930, Wil was raised in Causey, NM by his parents, Raymond and Maggie Tabor, along with his two sisters. Wil excelled at various sports in high school and college, especially basketball, and graduated from Eastern New Mexico University with a degree in biology. After marrying Darlee in 1955, Wil began his career in hazardous materials and facilities management, first at the nuclear reactor in Idaho Falls as a health physicist, then as an inspector at the Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear power plant in Piqua, OH. Wil accepted the position as Head of the Occupational Safety and Health Department at the University of New Mexico in 1966, a position he held until he retired in 1993. However, a full retirement was not in his plans. Shortly after retiring from UNM he started a small business to perform vehicle emissions testing. He located the business in a bay at Marquise Auto Repair, a company owned by his son, Bret. This allowed him to see his son every day and benefit from his son's business, as well occupy his time in a constructive manner where he could meet new people every day. He ran this business for several years until fully retiring to a life of leisure. Wil's skills as a handyman and auto mechanic were a source of pride for the family. He always had a project renovating the house (such as building a beautiful rock fireplace, installing sky lights, removing walls to make larger rooms, building storage barns, etc.) and reupholstering and building much of the furniture in the home. And he also worked tirelessly, it seemed, to improve the performance of his motorhomes. He, Darlee, and his children traveled across the North American continent almost every summer in motorhomes with hopped-up engines and customized amenities, all done by Wil. They enjoyed lots of sightseeing and a number of "adventures" due to unscheduled maintenance stops. As meticulous as Wil was in caring for his motorhome one would not have expected problems to occur. Just a single example of literally dozens of similar "adventures" was a transmission failure while traveling in Texas. Wil went to a farmhouse to ask for a place to work on his motorhome. His gift of gab uncovered the fact that by some wild coincidence the farmer's wife somehow knew someone Darlee had known! (A fast friendship developed that would last for years.) While the motorhome was parked near the farmer's house, Wil, by himself, removed the broken transmission, placed it inside the trunk of the car they towed, and drove it to Albuquerque to have it repaired. Once repaired, he took the transmission back to his motorhome (still sitting at the farmhouse in TX), reinstalled it by himself and then drove the RV back home to Albuquerque. He always did this without complaint, as if this were how everyone traveling in an RV across the U.S. did it. This was the man known and loved by so many. He will be missed deeply by his wife, family and friends. Funeral Services will be held on Friday, September 14, at the North East Church of Christ beginning with visitation at 1:00 PM., Memorial Service at 2:00 p.m., Burial at 3:30 PM. Arrangements entrusted to Riverside Funeral Home of Albuquerque, 225 San Mateo Blvd. NE, 764-9663.