GO AZTECS!
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Friday, June 29, 2018
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Friday, April 6, 2018
Nancy Ables Celebration of Life
Nancy Ables, loving wife, mother and grandmother passed away peacefully on February 24, six days after her 89th birthday. Nancy was born in Cleveland, moved to Baltimore at age six months, then to San Diego which became home for the next 83 years.
Nancy attended Alice Birney Elementary, Horace Mann Jr. High and San Diego High. In September 1946, she started her freshman year at San Diego State and met another freshman just out of the Navy. Tom Ables asked her to the Frosh Reception, she said yes, and two years later – she at age 19, he at 22 – they were married. They were together for 69 years until Tom’s passing in October 2017. She shared Tom’s love for the Aztecs, attending 441 football games and more than 1,000 Aztec basketball games.
Nancy worked in the Florence Elementary Library and then in the San Diego City Schools office until their first son Tom was born. From that point on, Nancy’s full-time job was raising Tom and Ken, their second son born five years later.
When the family moved to Point Loma in 1958, Nancy joined Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church – and to say she was an active member is an understatement. In addition to singing in the choir for more than 50 years, Nancy served as an elder, a deacon, clerk of the Session, personnel committee member and wedding coordinator. She also taught Sunday school and vacation Bible school. And she volunteered in the church office proofreading the Sunday bulletin and paying bills. She made lifelong friends at church.
In her 30s and 40s Nancy was an active tennis player on the courts at the Kona Kai Club, playing doubles with her regular group every Thursday. During the summer, Tom and Ken would go with her and spend the days at the pool and the beach.
Like her husband Tom, Nancy loved the races at Del Mar. For 56 years Tom and Nancy were members of the Turf Club at Del Mar. Her method for picking a winner? Bet on Victor Espinoza.
One of Nancy’s favorite titles was Grandma. With four grandchildren spread out over a 16-year span, she was able to spend time with each one – going to their games, going out to eat and showering them with gifts at Christmas and birthdays, loving every minute of it.
Nancy is survived by son Tom and his wife Debbie, son Ken and his wife Charlene, grandkids Thom and his wife Amy, Rick and his fiancée Beth, Steve and Michelle. Nancy was preceded in death by her husband Tom, parents Joseph McKean and Elizabeth Lackie and brother Ken McKean.
A celebration of Nancy’s life will be held at 2:00 on Saturday, April 14, at:
Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church
2128 Chatsworth Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107
Nancy and Tom will be inurned together in a private ceremony at Miramar National Cemetery on another day. In lieu of flowers, Nancy’s family is suggesting a donation in her name to either:
Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church
2128 Chatsworth Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107
(619) 223-1633
The Aztec Club
San Diego State Athletics
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92128-4313
(619) 594-6444
San Diego Union Tribune Life Tribute
Nancy attended Alice Birney Elementary, Horace Mann Jr. High and San Diego High. In September 1946, she started her freshman year at San Diego State and met another freshman just out of the Navy. Tom Ables asked her to the Frosh Reception, she said yes, and two years later – she at age 19, he at 22 – they were married. They were together for 69 years until Tom’s passing in October 2017. She shared Tom’s love for the Aztecs, attending 441 football games and more than 1,000 Aztec basketball games.
When the family moved to Point Loma in 1958, Nancy joined Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church – and to say she was an active member is an understatement. In addition to singing in the choir for more than 50 years, Nancy served as an elder, a deacon, clerk of the Session, personnel committee member and wedding coordinator. She also taught Sunday school and vacation Bible school. And she volunteered in the church office proofreading the Sunday bulletin and paying bills. She made lifelong friends at church.
In her 30s and 40s Nancy was an active tennis player on the courts at the Kona Kai Club, playing doubles with her regular group every Thursday. During the summer, Tom and Ken would go with her and spend the days at the pool and the beach.
Like her husband Tom, Nancy loved the races at Del Mar. For 56 years Tom and Nancy were members of the Turf Club at Del Mar. Her method for picking a winner? Bet on Victor Espinoza.
One of Nancy’s favorite titles was Grandma. With four grandchildren spread out over a 16-year span, she was able to spend time with each one – going to their games, going out to eat and showering them with gifts at Christmas and birthdays, loving every minute of it.
Nancy is survived by son Tom and his wife Debbie, son Ken and his wife Charlene, grandkids Thom and his wife Amy, Rick and his fiancée Beth, Steve and Michelle. Nancy was preceded in death by her husband Tom, parents Joseph McKean and Elizabeth Lackie and brother Ken McKean.
A celebration of Nancy’s life will be held at 2:00 on Saturday, April 14, at:
Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church
2128 Chatsworth Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107
Nancy and Tom will be inurned together in a private ceremony at Miramar National Cemetery on another day. In lieu of flowers, Nancy’s family is suggesting a donation in her name to either:
Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church
2128 Chatsworth Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107
(619) 223-1633
The Aztec Club
San Diego State Athletics
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92128-4313
(619) 594-6444
San Diego Union Tribune Life Tribute
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Tom Ables Celebration of Life
Thomas E. Ables, native San Diegan, loyal husband, father, grandfather and Aztec fan, passed away peacefully on October 16, 2017, at Mercy Hospital, the same hospital where he was born 91 years prior, on February 2, 1926.
Tom was a proud Navy veteran and alumnus of San Diego State. Tom enlisted in the Navy near the end of World War II and served aboard the USS Alabama in Main Engine Room #1, a self-described “bilge rat.”
He was honorably discharged in August of 1946. A series of events the next month laid out the framework for the next 71 years of his life.
In September 1946, he started his freshman year at San Diego State and became the sports editor of the school newspaper; met Nancy McKean, who would become his wife of 69 years; and saw his first Aztec football game, the first of 788 games he attended over the following 71 years.
In the spring of 1947 he was named the school’s first Sports Publicity Director, and that was the start of his 70-year career in publicity, advertising and marketing. He never retired, working all the way into October 2017.
Tom missed only a handful of football games the Aztecs played on the road. Between 1964 and 2015 he attended exactly 600 consecutive Aztec games, home and away. After that first game in September 1946, he never missed a home Aztec football game the rest of his life. His last game was October 14, two days before his passing. And he attended more than 1,000 Aztec basketball games as well.
Tom adapted to modern technology. More than 1,000 Aztec fans – including NFL players, hall-of-famers, college students and alumni – follow Tom on Twitter, Facebook and email. He regaled his followers with stories from the past 71 years. He blogged. He podcasted.
Professionally, he created groundbreaking advertising and marketing programs for his clients, including the first large-scale introduction of ATMs in the nation with San Diego Trust, the introduction of drive-thru restaurants with Jack-In-the-Box, the development of Rancho Bernardo, San Diego Zoo, Buck Knives, PahaQue Wilderness, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and many others.
Tom was active with Del Mar for 57 seasons, originally involved with its advertising, and in later years switched to race photography. At 91 he was at the track photographing the horses from his favorite spot on the outside rail in the final turn. On Wednesdays he was a fixture at his regular table in the Turf Club.
Tom worked at Phillips-Ramsey, a local advertising agency, from the early 1950s to 1977. He wanted to work at his own, smaller agency where decisions could be made quickly, so in 1977, Tom and Glenn Collins left Phillips-Ramsey and opened Venture, their two-man shop that offered their clients a fast response and no red tape. Glenn retired several years ago, but Tom worked there for the next 40 years, most of those with his trusted assistant Jill Fisher, and more recently, his son Ken.
Tom has written two books: “The Story of Buck Knives…a Family Business,” and “GO AZTECS!,” now in its fourth edition. He was working on a third book that highlighted his 70 years in publicity and marketing.
Tom is survived by Nancy, his wife of 69 years, son Tom K. and his wife Debbie, son Ken and his wife Charlene, grandkids Thom and his wife Amy, Rick and his fiancée Beth, Steve and Michelle. Tom was preceded in death by his parents Charles and Pearl Ables, brother Chuck and sister-in-law Martha.
A celebration of Tom’s life will be held at 2:00 on Saturday, November 11, at:
Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church
2128 Chatsworth Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107
Wear red and black!
Tom will be inurned in a private ceremony at Miramar National Cemetery on another day. In lieu of flowers, Tom’s family is suggesting a donation in Tom’s name to either:
The Aztec Club
San Diego State Athletics
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-4313
(619) 594-6444
USS Alabama Battleship Foundation
PO Box 6
Mobile, AL 36601
(251) 428-2834
Attention Lynne Price
Tom was a proud Navy veteran and alumnus of San Diego State. Tom enlisted in the Navy near the end of World War II and served aboard the USS Alabama in Main Engine Room #1, a self-described “bilge rat.”
He was honorably discharged in August of 1946. A series of events the next month laid out the framework for the next 71 years of his life.
In September 1946, he started his freshman year at San Diego State and became the sports editor of the school newspaper; met Nancy McKean, who would become his wife of 69 years; and saw his first Aztec football game, the first of 788 games he attended over the following 71 years.
In the spring of 1947 he was named the school’s first Sports Publicity Director, and that was the start of his 70-year career in publicity, advertising and marketing. He never retired, working all the way into October 2017.
Tom missed only a handful of football games the Aztecs played on the road. Between 1964 and 2015 he attended exactly 600 consecutive Aztec games, home and away. After that first game in September 1946, he never missed a home Aztec football game the rest of his life. His last game was October 14, two days before his passing. And he attended more than 1,000 Aztec basketball games as well.
Tom adapted to modern technology. More than 1,000 Aztec fans – including NFL players, hall-of-famers, college students and alumni – follow Tom on Twitter, Facebook and email. He regaled his followers with stories from the past 71 years. He blogged. He podcasted.
Professionally, he created groundbreaking advertising and marketing programs for his clients, including the first large-scale introduction of ATMs in the nation with San Diego Trust, the introduction of drive-thru restaurants with Jack-In-the-Box, the development of Rancho Bernardo, San Diego Zoo, Buck Knives, PahaQue Wilderness, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and many others.
Tom was active with Del Mar for 57 seasons, originally involved with its advertising, and in later years switched to race photography. At 91 he was at the track photographing the horses from his favorite spot on the outside rail in the final turn. On Wednesdays he was a fixture at his regular table in the Turf Club.
Tom worked at Phillips-Ramsey, a local advertising agency, from the early 1950s to 1977. He wanted to work at his own, smaller agency where decisions could be made quickly, so in 1977, Tom and Glenn Collins left Phillips-Ramsey and opened Venture, their two-man shop that offered their clients a fast response and no red tape. Glenn retired several years ago, but Tom worked there for the next 40 years, most of those with his trusted assistant Jill Fisher, and more recently, his son Ken.
Tom has written two books: “The Story of Buck Knives…a Family Business,” and “GO AZTECS!,” now in its fourth edition. He was working on a third book that highlighted his 70 years in publicity and marketing.
Tom is survived by Nancy, his wife of 69 years, son Tom K. and his wife Debbie, son Ken and his wife Charlene, grandkids Thom and his wife Amy, Rick and his fiancée Beth, Steve and Michelle. Tom was preceded in death by his parents Charles and Pearl Ables, brother Chuck and sister-in-law Martha.
A celebration of Tom’s life will be held at 2:00 on Saturday, November 11, at:
Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church
2128 Chatsworth Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107
Wear red and black!
Tom will be inurned in a private ceremony at Miramar National Cemetery on another day. In lieu of flowers, Tom’s family is suggesting a donation in Tom’s name to either:
The Aztec Club
San Diego State Athletics
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-4313
(619) 594-6444
USS Alabama Battleship Foundation
PO Box 6
Mobile, AL 36601
(251) 428-2834
Attention Lynne Price
Some of the tributes to Tom from local and national media:
The Daily Aztec Tom was sports editor 1946-47
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