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Memorial Keepers(1)
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The Family
Abel Zander
January 17th, 1980 - July 6th, 2020
January 17th, 1980 - July 6th, 2020
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Tributes
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David Zenner
I first got to know Abel at Arizona Downs in 2019. I was given his number to ask him to update something on the website. Noting the area code, I knew he was from Illinois as am I and we shared a few stories about that. I actually didn't meet him in person until the following December at the Symposium but he gave me a giant bear hug when we met. I was thrilled to see him share the distinguished student award with Alex, who has also become a close friend. At Wendy Davis's recommendation, the Turf Publicists of America (of which Wendy and I are both officers) asked him to help us update our website. We were scheduling a conference call between Abel, myself, Wendy and an another officer of our organization. We proposed a date/time for the call and in so typically matter-of-fact as Abel could be, he said "Oh, I'm having a procedure that (Tuesday) morning, can we do it Thursday instead?" He didn't ask up to put the call off for weeks, he figured a couple of days was all he would need to be able be back on the call and the project - and he was. He was a very special person and in our few interactions, he always had me laughing and that is how I will remember Abel.
Colton Campbell
I remember Abel as a do it right the first time kinda guy some may say a perfectionist, I would say its just Abel. I remember that I was fortunate enough to be invited to the zander house on Christmas to play spades and has everybody knows Abel was one of the players that you wanted to be matched up with and play as a partner. I was lucky enough to be his partner that time and we played spades and we were winning pretty good but I purposely booked a couple bags and Abel got upset with me because he knew we could have won the game without getting any bags but I just wanted to end the game faster than he wanted but that was Abel he put in 100% with everything he did
Sue and Steve Rufe
Our heartfelt condolences go out to Abel's family and friends. Thank you to everyone who shared during his Celebration of Life event. We were blessed to get to know this very special human being a bit better through all of the sharing by his family and friends this evening. Thank you all so much. From what we heard and what we see in his eyes through the photos on this site, he was an intriguing, lovable soul. God bless.
Sarah Plahn
Abel was full of charisma, as evidenced in these photos and surely by all those who knew him. I remember playing with Abel at our grandparents' house and he was always a sweet, kind and fun cousin/pal. Growing up I remember Abel always had the best smile and funny jokes or quips at the ready. I'm amazed by all that he accomplished, he filled his time with adventures and remarkable studies. I'm also honored to have heard of all the lives he touched and all the special friendships he made near and far. My heart is heavy around this loss. Sending love and praying for peace and comfort to Joe, Kathy and Abel's siblings during this most difficult time.
Scott Lucas
I had the privilege of teaching Abel in my Islamic Thought class at the University of Arizona in spring 2018. Abel was clearly an exceptional student and wrote very thoughtful papers, one of which I reread this evening. It was wonderful to learn about his life at this evening's Celebration of Life ceremony, and now I know my class would have been much more interesting if he had taught it instead of me. My sincere condolences to the Zander family. As we say in Arabic, انا لله وانا اليه راجعون (To God we belong, and to God we return.)
Tiffany Marie
I first met Abel at a football game freshman year of high school. He was dating my good friend Laura and he had been friends with my best friend Stephanie for a bit as well. I remember he told me I looked like Sandra Bullock and I told him he looked like Ethan Hawke. Lol. We were 14, ok? From that time on we were friends. As we got older, Stephanie, Abel and I forged an even deeper friendship. There were months at a time that we were together almost every night...hanging out at Applebees or driving around looking for nothing to do but we together and laugh. I have so many memories flooding back. His "velociraptor" impression. "Excuse me miss but where do all the high school girls hang out?" lol...always going for the shock value. So many nights playing Tony Hawk in Steph's room. And on Thanksgiving Abel and I would have Thanksgiving dinner with our family and then we would meet up at Stephanie's house around 8pm because they ate late and we would have our "second Thanksgiving" together. Sadly we lost Stephanie's father this year too...my heart aches thinking of those holiday memories. Honestly, I have twenty plus years of memories that hurt to think about right now...he was such a force in my life and the lives of many others. As we got older we lost touch for maybe two years but once I got back from my adventures he was right there to pick back up where we left off. Him and I were the "best man/lady" in Stephanie's wedding. I remember we both had the WORST stage fright and we were up there holding on to each other from the back to keep each other from fainting. "Look at your shoes, Tiff...just keep it together"....he was always there to help me keep it together when I needed him. I took a picture of our shoes that night as a reminder to keep my shit together...and I am so happy I did. He was honest about the men I dated. Very quick to tell me they weren't worth my time. Especially when we were living together right before he left for New York. I would bring a guy home and he would be sitting there on the floor (because he hated the couch he bought off Amazon) playing video games and he would just give me that side smirk... And I don't know if anyone knows that he gave the BEST hand massages! And his hugs...yes they were the best. I was blessed to have called Abel one of my best friends. I will miss him every day. The world lost such a unique soul.
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