Charles Tabor

Charles Tabor passed away suddenly on May 17, 2022 at the age of 44. He is the son of James E. Tabor and Lucy C. Maestas Schwank. Charles is preceded in death by his father and grandparents. He is survived by his beloved mother and brothers, Eric Paul Tabor of Miami FL, John L. Tabor of San Ysidro, NM, Moses Jhai of Fair Oaks, CA, and James R. Schwank, Jr. of Albuquerque NM. At the time of his passing, he was a resident of Albuquerque, NM. Charles was named after his grandfather, Charles Tabor, who was a coal miner in the hills of West Virginia.

As a youth Charles was very active in sports. He played both soccer and football. Charles attended high school in Albuquerque and enrolled in courses at DeVry University (Phoenix) and at Eastern New Mexico University (Portales). He had lived in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, however, Albuquerque, New Mexico was his home for the majority of his life.

Charles had numerous career pursuits. He was especially gifted at trades requiring the use of his hands. He had numerous types of jobs within the construction industry in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Two trades that he enjoyed the most were tiling and painting, and he was meticulous at that. Even while he was off work he enjoyed fixing things at the house, installing windows or whatever was needed. Previous to finding his passion in the trades business, Charles also worked within the semiconductor industry making advanced integrated circuits at Phillips Semiconductors in Albuquerque and at SUMCO in Phoenix.

He had numerous hobbies. One passion of Charles' was cooking. He loved to prepare food for others. He enjoyed visiting family and friends, and was always ready to play a game of Scrabble. He greatly enjoyed outdoor activities. He especially enjoyed cycling, hiking, and fishing in the mountainous areas. As a youth, Charles loved to go on weekend picnics with his brothers and climb around on some of the large boulders with them in the Sandia Mountains. Every scratch and scrape he came home with was merely a sign of a good time. On occasion, when in Los Alamos, he would venture into nearby canyons to hike and explore for hours on end. Charles was also close to his Tabor relatives-Aunt Reta Robinson, Uncle Bob Tabor and cousins Phillip Church and Eddie Allen and visited them as often as he could in West Virginia.

A little over two years ago, Charles had a rollover car accident in which he was almost killed. However, God had other plans for him, and He spared his life. Charles used this near-death experience as an encounter with Christ. From that moment on, Charles did whatever he could to bring Jesus fully into his own life. Charles joined a Bible class and began reading books on the Christian faith. He listened to daily Christian radio shows, loved the Billy Graham CDs, and Fr Benedict Groeschel's witty sermons. Most importantly he wanted to actively bring Jesus to others through his words and actions. You couldn't have a conversation with Charles without him telling you about Jesus Christ.

Charles had a caring heart and he loved to pray for others. He loved to tell his mother "I bet I can out-pray you." He was always ready to come to the aid of those in need and those being abused. One example, is that a cousin of his needed a kidney. Charles was ready to donate one of his kidneys to his cousin and was ready to be tested as a donor. However, his cousin's medical team had already made other arrangements and Charles did not have to sign up. Nevertheless, Charles was ready to do what he could to help his cousin. Recently, Charles was on the trolley in another city and he witnessed a man verbally abusing an elderly lady. Charles approached the man and told him "I see you don't have Jesus Christ in your life." The man said "you're right" and calmly stopped abusing the woman and left the bus.

Charles departed with love for the Lord in his heart; with love for his family; with goodness in his heart; with complete trust in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

A Resurrection Mass will be celebrated for Charles on Friday, May 27, 2022 at Prince of Peace, 12500 Carmel Avenue NE, in Albuquerque at 11:00 AM. A reception will follow Mass in the community room of Prince of Peace. Interment will follow the reception at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 7999 Wyoming Blvd NE in Albuquerque.