Abe Alvarez, 75, of Delphi, died Tuesday, February 1, 2005, at Arbor Hospice, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  He had been in ill health the past few months.  Born July 10, 1929, in East Chicago, he graduated from East Chicago Washington High School in 1948. 

Mr. Alvarez was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the Army from 1952 to 1954. 

He married Earleen Kniss in Columbia City on January 1, 1956, and she survives.

Mr. Alvarez graduated from Ball State Teachers College, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1955 and his master of arts in 1957.  In 1963, he studied in Spain as a Fullbright Scholar, and in 1964 did post graduate work at the Purdue University Language Institute.  In 1976, he was honored by the Delphi American Legion as Outstanding Teacher of the Year from Delphi Community School Corp., where he taught Spanish and English for 33 years, retiring in June 1990.  He had been the Delphi High School swim coach for 19 years and had chaperoned numerous trips to Mexico at the end of each school year with his Spanish students and their parents.

Prior to Delphi, he taught in Marshall County (LaPaz).  After retirement, he taught Spanish for two years at the campus of IUPUI-Kokomo.  He was often called upon to translate for local businesses and law enforcement groups, and was a translater for the PanAmerican Games in Indianapolis in 1987.  He worked many summers in his earlier life at Camp Whitley with children from Columbia City schools.  He was involved with the Logansport Parks Department, and worked at Camp Tecumseh YMCA Camp in Brookston.

He was a charter member of the Sociedad Honoraria de Profesores de Espanol, honoring outstanding teachers of Spanish in Indiana.  He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Delphi, where he was a deacon, elder, and trustee; a member of Delphi Lions Club since 1960 and was past president from 1974 to 1975; was past president and current vice president of Carroll County Retired Teachers Association; a member of the Indiana Retired Teachers Association, Junto Club, and served on the Delphi Library Board for 17 years.

He was a swimmer for many years at the Area IV Senior Olympics, where he held several records.  During recent years, he and his wife wintered in Florida, where he enjoyed his lifelong sport of swimming.

Surviving with his wife are a son, Dr. David Alvarez of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a daughter Suzanne Kennedy (husband: David) of Jacksonville, Florida, and five grandchildren.