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Tom Abraham

Tom Abraham (probably December 8, 1910 – February 8, 2007) was a Lebanese-born American businessman and civic leader in Canadian, the county seat and the only community in Hemphill County, located in the northeastern Texas Panhandle adjacent to Oklahoma. He was born in the village of Kafracab, Lebanon, to Nahim Malouf (1885–1965) and Alia Malouf (1885–1979), but the parents changed their surname to "Abraham" when they entered the United States through Ellis Island. Abraham grew up in Canadian, where he graduated from Canadian High School in 1928. In 1932, Abraham graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where he played on the football team and was the business manager for The Daily Toreador, the Tech student newspaper. He helped to launch the Red Raiders Club and was part of the commission which created the Texas Tech Dad's Association (later the Texas Tech Association of Parents). Prior to his death, Abraham was believed to have been the oldest living Texas Tech letterman. After graduation from Tech, Abraham worked in Paducah in Cottle County south of Childress. On April 28, 1935, Tom married his neighbor, the former Helen Ferguson (August 7, 1915 - February 11, 2008). A native of Merkel near Abilene in Taylor County, Helen was the daughter of Frank Ferguson and the former Maude Hill. Tom and Helen moved to Canadian to work in the senior Abraham's "Fair Department Store" and eventually became the owners. He was instrumental in building the original sanctuary of his church, the First Presbyterian Church of Canadian. He and his brothers also helped to establish the Edward Abraham Memorial Home. He was active in Rotary International and the Masonic lodge in Canadian. In his later years, Abraham received "Man of the Year" designation from the Canadian-Hemphill County Chamber of Commerce and the Americanism Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution, an honor given only to immigrants who helped other immigrants obtain citizenship. In 1976, he chaired the Hemphill County Bicentennial Commission. In 1980, he received the Freedoms Foundation Award in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Abraham died of lengthy complications from a stroke in Hemphill County Hospital in Canadian. In addition to his wife, he was survived by three children, Donna Abraham Stainback of Greenville, Ken Abraham and his wife Renee Abraham of Lubbock, and Kay Abraham Brown and her husband Terry Brown of Canadian; nine grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, and a son-in-law, Raiford Stainback, Jr. , the husband of Donna Stainback. One of his brothers was Malouf Abraham, Sr. (1915–1994), a wealthy oil and natural gas developer and philanthropist who was mayor of Canadian from 1953 to 1957, and a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1967-1971. One of his nephews was Malouf Abraham, Jr. , (born 1939), a retired Canadian, Texas, physician who specialized in allergies and is an active patron of the arts. All of the Abrahams became Republicans and were generous donors to the party. Two of Abraham's minister-granddaughters officiated at his funeral, which was held in the First Christian Church of Canadian. He and his wife are interred in the Edith Ford Memorial Cemeteries in Canadian. His obituary reads that Abraham was known for his kindness to others. In 1992 the Amarillo Globe News in a feature article referred to him, accordingly: "Santa Claus is alive and giving in Canadian."