| Name |
Larry Gene Mabee |
| Birth |
25 Mar 1943 |
Henderson, Clark County, Nevada  [1] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Census |
12 Apr 1950 |
4804 Jean Drive, San Diego, San Diego County, California [2] |
- John C Mabee, Head, White, Male, 28, Married, born in Iowa, Manager, Food Store
Betty L Mabee, Wife, White, Female, 29, Married, born in Missouri
Larry G Mabee, Son, White, Male, 7, never married, born in Nevada
Carol J Murphy, Sister-in-law, White, Female, 25, never married, born in Missouri, Stenographer, Aircraft Factory
|
| Info |
- John & Betty Couchman Mabee, #43 (His parents).
|
| Note |
- Maybee Society Member Number 141
|
| Residence |
2000 |
Rancho Santa Fe, California |
| Witness-Obituary |
16 Feb 2010 |
Los Angeles, California [3] |
- Betty L. Mabee, a dedicated philanthropist who with her husband, John, built one of California's leading thoroughbred breeding farms in the hills of Ramona, Calif., died Monday. She was 88.
Mabee died at her Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., home near San Diego after an extended illness, announced her only child, Larry.
Between 1990 and 2001, the Mabees were consistently named California's leading breeders. In the 1990s, they won three Eclipse Awards as the outstanding thoroughbred breeder in North America.
The Mabees were a true team, said Joe Harper, president of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
"For many years, they had the most successful breeding operation in the state. They also were both instrumental in Del Mar racetrack being... one of the most successful tracks in the country," he said.
After her husband died at 80 in 2002, Mabee and her son continued to run Golden Eagle Farm, a 568-acre spread that the family established in 1972.
She also moved into the Del Mar boardroom in 2002, becoming only the second woman in the track's history to hold such a post.
Her favorite racehorse was Best Pal, who was bred at her farm and won more than $5.6 million, including the inaugural running of the $1-million Pacific Classic at Del Mar in 1991.
Born in Unionville, Mo., in 1921, Mabee grew up on an Iowa farm, as did her future husband. High school sweethearts, they married in 1941.
After moving to San Diego in 1943, the couple invested $2,000 in a mom-and-pop grocery store that grew into the Big Bear supermarket chain. They sold it in the early 1990s.
"When you have a store about the size of a family room, and there are only two people, you are it," Mabee told The San Diego Union-Tribune in 1991. "All of our farm training didn't hurt.... We were used to working from dawn until dark."
From 1984 to 1997, the Mabees also owned the Golden Eagle Insurance Co., which had more than 1,300 employees.
Dedicated to community projects, she started a secondhand thrift shop in Chula Vista to support San Diego's Aseltine School for children with learning disabilities. She also founded a number of auxiliaries and volunteered widely.
In 1957, her interest in racing had been sparked by the purchase of two yearling thoroughbreds, the Coal Baron and War Missile.
Racing "has been such a wonderful world," Mabee said in 2002. "I couldn't imagine being without it."
In addition to her son, she is survived by three grandchildren.
|
| Death |
16 Dec 2012 |
Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego County, California [1] |
| Obituary |
17 Dec 2012 |
San Diego County, California [4] |
- Larry Mabee, the son of legendary horse breeders John and Betty Mabee of Golden Eagle Farm, died Sunday at his home in Rancho Santa Fe.
Mabee, 69, lost his battle with prostate cancer. He died at his home with his family at his side. Family members included his wife, Christine Mabee, and son, John, and daughters, Laura and Melissa, and golden retriever, Angel.
Mabee was part of a horse breeding operation that once was the most productive in California and one of the top ones in the U.S.
No public service is planned, but there will be a private service for immediate family members in the near future.
At one time, Golden Eagle Farm had 800 racehorses on the Ramona property and produced hundreds of stake winners. It has been reduced to around 50 horses in recent years.
There is no word on what will happen to Golden Eagle Farm, but speculation is that it will remain operating at its current capacity.
|
| Obituary |
3 Mar 2013 |
San Diego, California [5] |
- Larry Gene Mabee, 69, passed away at his home in Ranch Santa Fe, CA on December 16, 2012, from prostate cancer. He is survived by his wife Christine Mabee; his three children John Mabee, Melissa Mabee, and Laura Boswell; and his grandson Matthew Boswell. Family held a private graveside service on January 5, 2013. Born on March 25, 1943 in Henderson, Nevada to John Couchman Mabee and Betty Lee Murphy Mabee, Larry moved to San Diego, CA at the age of two. He graduated from Crawford High School in 1961 and married Barbara Ann Clark Mabee with whom he had his three children. He worked with his parents to build Big Bear Supermarkets from a corner store into a successful chain across San Diego County. He sold Big Bear Supermarkets in 1993 and pursued his other life interests including travel and cooking. Upon his father's death in 2002, Larry took over Golden Eagle Farm, a thoroughbred breeding operation, and ran it until his death. He was also actively involved in the operation of his numerous commercial and residential real estate holdings in San Diego County. Larry was a man who was larger than life and lived life to the fullest. He cared deeply for those around him and was known to quietly perform acts of generosity for those in need
|
| Witness-Obituary |
- John and Betty Mabee founded Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona, Cal., possibly the most successful and formidable breeding operations in California. John Mabee died on April 24, 2002, at age 80, after complications from a stroke suffered a week earlier. He is survived by Betty, his wife of 60 years, a son, Larry, and three grandchildren.
Betty, with Larry's assistance, has carried on the operation of Golden Eagle Farm ... Golden Eagle has scaled back its involvement since John's death, and in 2007, it was announced that they would sell the flagship farm in Ramona and disperse approximately 250 horses over the course of a year. They will retain a handful of broodmares and move to a smaller farm in Rancho Santa Fe by 2009
The Mabees moved to California in 1941 from Iowa and built a corner grocery store in San Diego into the Big Bear supermarket chain. From the profits of Big Bear, which was sold in 1991, Golden Eagle Farm was born. In 1984 Mabee founded the Golden Eagle Insurance, a workers' compensation carrier in California. The company was sold in 1997 after a battle with California insurance regulators.
|
| Reference Number |
141 |
| Person ID |
I141 |
Maybee Society |
| Last Modified |
7 Apr 2024 |
1943 - 2012 (69 years)
