The officers and members of the Board of Directors of the Dominican Development Group, as well as the clergy and laity of the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic, extend their deepest sympathy to Steve Tabor and to the family upon the death of his beloved wife, Loretta.

Loretta D. Tabor

Loretta D. Tabor, a resident of Callawassee Island and the wife of Stephen H. Tabor, died on April 9, 2016, following a traffic accident. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Monday, April 18, at All Saints Episcopal Church, 3001 Meeting Street, Hilton Head, SC 29926. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Dominican Republic Missions at All Saints Episcopal Church. For her full obituary and the opportunity to leave a memorial message, click here.

With her husband, Loretta was a veteran of many mission trips to the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic. Two of her reflections on these mission trips may be found in online reports at the All Saints’ website: 2014 (scroll to pp. 18-19) and 2015 (scroll to pp. 8-9). With Fred Gebler and her husband, she wrote this article about the “Happy Feet” shoe donation program sponsored by All Saints Episcopal Church in Hilton Head and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Port Royal, SC.

Loretta with children in Barahona

In addition to her husband, Loretta is survived by one daughter, Sarah Gilmore (Benjamin) of Washington, DC: two sons, Peter (Patti) of Pflugerville, TX and Charles of Ocean, NJ. She and Steve are grandparents of six grandchildren; Chase, Conner and Chance Tabor of Pflugerville, Texas; Lucy and Alice Gilmore of Washington, DC and Anya Roux Tabor of Ocean, NJ. Loretta came from a family of seven and is survived by siblings Dennis (Ann) Nichols of Green Bay, WI; Francis (Tim) Downey of Latrobe, PA; Patricia Hutton of Tampa, FL; Michael Downey of Amity, PA; and Joseph Downey of Tampa, FL.

In the summary report from All Saint’s 2014 Vacation Bible School team, Loretta wrote this paragraph as a summary of her experience on that trip:

I believe that God allowed me, and the team, to come to the DR to make a difference in the Dominicans’ lives, but I also believe that they have made an even greater difference in my life. I have learned so much from them, and been changed by the experience. With God’s help, I will continue that journey of love.

She made this comment about the “Happy Feet” shoe donation project for Dominican schoolchildren:

These are people who really live the way Christ intended us to live; they share everything. What we can do really is only a drop in the bucket, but we believe that it is a blessing both to us and to the Dominican children to be able to add that drop as often as we can.

After hearing the sad news about Loretta’s death, the children and teachers of the two Episcopal schools in Barahona prepared these condolence notes for her husband, Steve. The notes are to be hand-carried to Loretta’s funeral by Missionary Karen Carroll, coordinator of the Mission Team Support Office of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, and Bill Kunkle, Executive Director of the Dominican Development Group.

Condolence note from the children of Barahona

Condolence note from the children of Barahona

Condolence note from the children of Barahona

Condolence note from the children of Barahona

Condolence note from the children of Barahona