The family of Natalio Sabal, with great sorrow, announce his passing on December 25, 2020. A native of Sevilla, Spain and refugee of the Spanish Civil War, he and his family arrived in New York City in the 1930s, where Natalio with his parents and siblings would cultivate a life of service to others.
Before life in Arizona, Natalio graduated class president of De Witt Clinton HS in the Bronx. He entered military service in the United States Navy, served both a aboard ship and in Cuba, and completed the medical academy at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland (Walter Reed.)
He then went on to finish university with a graduate degree in Psychology. With an old world charm, the world-travelled Natalio really loved, lived, and some would argue, he had a few lifetimes of adventures, everything from fighting for civil rights to bullfighting, caring for orphaned children to donating his time, money and energy to protect the less fortunate.
A Douglas resident for nearly 50 years, Natalio managed the Capin’s and Phelps Dodge mercantiles during the 1970s and early 1980s. He joined the Cochise County Superior Court where he worked for 32 years. During his time in Douglas he was a Cochise College Board member for 21 years, and was a member of the Douglas Unified School District for 8 years, including this last year. Natalio spent his lifetime serving the greater good of humanity and education.
He is survived by his son, Seth, who returned to Douglas from New York to spend these last years with Natalio, his daughters Mercedes, Shana and Leslie, innumerable friends including his longtime friends, Joe and Ray Borane, and the many young people he influenced through his work with juveniles at crossroads in life.
No services are planned at this time; Natalio will be laid to rest at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Sierra Vista at a private event.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you do something kind for someone in need, as Natalio did for a long lifetime.
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