Abe Flores

Abe Flores passed away peacefully at the age of 85 on December 30, 2019.  Funeral services will be held on Friday, January 10, 2020, at Marshall and Marshall Funeral Directors Chapel at 10:00 a.m. with Mr. Bruce Martin of Whitney Church of Christ officiating.  Burial with Military Honors will follow at DFW National Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. on January 10, 2020.  A visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday evening, January 9, at the funeral home.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, he began his life of service to the community. The son of a grocer, he started his early years working for his mother and father in the Flores Brothers store, helping customers and delivering groceries.

When he was a teenager, a family moved in across the street with a beautiful daughter named Donna. They quickly fell in love and then married in 1951, starting their new lives in Oklahoma City.

Abe spent his life keeping people safe. This started with the military, serving in the Air Force during the Korean War. He was posted in Alaska, where he ensured the troops were ready for their missions.

After his military service, Abe joined the San Antonio Police Department in 1957. In the late 1960s, he became the President of the San Antonio Police Officers Association. He subsequently headed the Academy Training Bureau teaching new cadets how to keep the community and themselves safe. With 21 years of dedicated service, Abe retired from the police department in 1978.

Shortly after that, he joined a company in San Antonio, where he trained personal security guards from various organizations and countries in evasive high-speed maneuvers to protect their clients. He then became the first Safety and Security Director for H-E-B Grocery, from which he retired in 1996.

After deciding to truly retire, Abe and Donna moved to Whitney, Texas, to be closer to their grandchildren. It was not long before the community recognized Abe’s talents and asked him to run for mayor, which he did and won in 2001. He worked hard to improve safety with street light and road repairs and increased the state support of the Whitney community.

Abe was always volunteering his time to help others, barbecuing, and working booths at charity festivals, too many to count. He was active in his church and was always ready to work an event or do a reading during Sunday services.

Abe was a Master Mason and earned his 32° with the Scottish Rite. He was also a Shriner and loved performing as a clown in the Shrine Circus. Abe always wanted to make people laugh, he was quick with a joke and just as fast with a smile and a laugh.

But what we will remember most about Abe are his sense of humor and story-telling talents. He had a gift for portraying life’s events with excitement and anticipation, making sure we did not want to miss the end of the adventure. He loved spending time with his family, building birdhouses, fixing things, playing Pictionary, and other board games, and he especially enjoyed playing the piano. He was self-taught and would play a piano wherever he could find one. He has graced the keyboards in many a hotel lobby, sometimes accompanying the music with his wonderful baritone voice.

His wife of 57 years, Donna, preceded Abe in death, and we know he is happy to see her again. His surviving sons, Rick and Greg, 3 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and his second wife, Sandy, will miss him dearly.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the following ,

YWCA of San Diego County: (Please see link at bottom of page)

Founded in 1908, YWCA of San Diego County empowers individuals and families to break the cycle of domestic violence and homelessness, and achieve self-sufficiency. Together, we are eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting freedom, justice, and dignity for all.

Fuzzy Friends Pet Rescue: (Please see link at bottom of page)

Fuzzy Friends Rescue believes that animals, as living creatures, are entitled to a quality life, respect and compassion. Since humans domesticated animals, we have a moral and ethical responsibility to care for them. Our mission is to provide shelter, food, medical treatment and love to our community’s animals that are abandoned, unwanted, or otherwise in need. We want to instill in our community an awareness of these animals. We encourage and promote responsible pet ownership.