ALBERT S. TABOR, JR.
1938-2021
On Monday, February 15, 2021, Albert S. Tabor, Jr., loving husband and father, passed away at Methodist Hospital at the age of 82. Having lived a life of hard work, joy in his family and friends, and service to others, he succumbed to heart failure after a brief illness.
Bert was born in Berwind, West Virginia, on September 8, 1938. He was the youngest child of Albert S. Tabor,
Sr. and Ruby Tabor, née Collins. Bert, Sr. worked for the Norfolk & Western Railway, and the family spent Bert’s childhood years moving from one small town in West Virginia, Western Virginia, and Southern Ohio to another. Having survived the elementary school bullies of North Central Appalachia (and made examples of a few), Bert attended high school in Portsmouth, Ohio, where he made many lifelong friends.
Although they had not completed high school themselves, his parents were both singularly committed to their children’s education. They patiently shepherded Bert though The Ohio State University, where was at first an indifferent scholar, and The Ohio State University Law School, where his intellect ignited.
Bert took exceptional joy in his work, which was dedicated to the arguably obscure, but never-boring-to-him field of liquids pipeline regulatory law. After graduating from law school in 1964, Bert began his career in Chicago with the Santa Fe Railway, then moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the Federal Power Commission. In Washington, he met his wife, Kay. After Bert had moved back to Chicago, they married in 1969.
Bert was working in Chicago for Santa Fe again when, in 1973, he received an offer to join Vinson & Elkins in Houston. He and Kay, then 6 months pregnant, took a chance on the just-beginning-to-boom town in Texas. It was a fateful move, launching a career that was to build one of the most respected energy regulatory law practices in the nation. His daughter, Amy, was born in May of that year. The next 40+ years took Bert to Alaska, where he was counsel for owners of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System over several decades, and found him frequently in Washington, D.C., where he obtained numerous favorable decisions for his clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. After retiring from Vinson & Elkins, Bert continued to practice along with many of his former
V&E colleagues at Caldwell Boudreaux Lefler.
Bert was devoted to the community and his adopted home town of Houston. He served on the board of the End Hunger Network for many years, helping to provide thousands of nutritious meals to hungry Houstonians. He went on to serve on the board of the Houston Food Bank, the board of Target Hunger, a food charity serving Northeast Houston, the community advisory board of SEARCH Homeless Services, and the board of the Powell Foundation.
Bert was a fierce competitor both in the hearing room and on the tennis court. He was also an exceptionally friendly man and quick to laugh at all the world’s absurdities. He shared his good humor and love of life generously with all he encountered, trading stories endlessly with friends old and new, without regard for age, status, or station. His warmth, sense of fun, and optimism lifted up everyone around him.
Bert was preceded in death by his sister, Mary Ann Schellenger. He is survived by his wife, Kay, his daughter, Amy, his brother, John, and John’s wife Nancy, as well as many loving nieces, nephews, and friends. The family has established a website where friends can virtually gather to view photos, share memories, and sign a guestbook at www. berttabor.com (password available upon request). Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to Target Hunger or SEARCH.