To see him dance, sail and coax notes out of his trombone and string Christmas lights, you might have thought that Albert Gabbs had special pact with Father Time.
Or, perhaps, he discovered a private fountain of youth while planting all those shade trees in his Mission Hills canyon.
"Al was the kind of person people half his age envied because of his enthusiasm and verve," said Gene King, a longtime friend.
Mr. Gabbs, who celebrated his 90th birthday in Paris in July, died in his sleep Sunday in his Mission Hills home.
"His energy was boundless," said his wife, Anna Belle. "He seemed about 60 or 65. He was a true dynamo. He could dance for four hours at a time.
His death stunned those who knew him. He had injured his shoulder in a fall while putting up Christmas decorations a few days earlier at the Downtown Lions Club. The injury immobilized his arm and seemed to zap his spirit, his wife said.
For "Mr. Christmas," as Mr. Gabbs came to be known for his community lighting projects, the spirit of giving was year-round.
Over the years, he had spearheaded fund-raising for the March of Dimes, Meals on Wheels and the Salk Institute. Yet to many, he was best known for annually transforming an ordinary cedar tree at Balboa Park into a shimmering symbol of the holiday season during December Nights, previously called Christmas on the Prado. Hoisted by a crane, Mr. Gabbs would rise 30 feet in a steel bucket to place a star atop the tree a few yards northeast of the organ pavilion.
"When you get up there, you get above the trees and look down and you feel like you're up in an airplane," he told The San Diego Union in 1986, when he was 72. "It feels like you're flying."

Mr. Gabbs often lamented that the tree he decorated fell short of the grandeur he envisioned for such a festive setting. "A little boy changed his mind," his wife said. "He told Al that the tree was the most beautiful he had ever seen."
Mr. Gabbs, who had been in the commercial display business, joined several downtown businessmen in the late 1940s in organizing the Community Christmas Center Committee. With experience in topping 20-story buildings to hang Christmas lights, he was a natural choice for bringing expertise to the Balboa Park display.
"The weekend before he died, Al, his wife and I lit the San Diego Christmas tree together in Balboa Park," said Bill Swank, who plays Santa Claus at the park.
"Although he didn't have any children of his own, Christmas for the kids of San Diego was always very close to Al's heart," Swank said. "When money was required for the maintenance and storage of the Christmas Story figures and scenes at the park, Al set up a special account."
Born in Juneau, Alaska, Albert Austin Gabbs Jr. moved to San Diego with his family at age 2 because his father's fragile health required a warmer climate.
His father died when Mr. Gabbs was 4. An only child, he was introduced to the arts, music and dancing by his mother.
He learned to sail at 8 "and always had some kind of boat," his wife said.
Mr. Gabbs graduated from San Diego High School in 1932 and served on the school's alumni association board until his death.

After Pearl Harbor, Mr. Gabbs joined the Army and was trained as an engineer in a camouflage battalion.
During World War II, Mr. Gabbs saw action in the Battle of the Bulge and earned five battle stars. He left active duty as a major.
On one of his military leaves, he returned to San Diego and met Anna Belle Crawford, who worked as a secretary for his mother, Lillian, a purchasing agent for city schools. The couple were married on Valentine's Day in 1947.
As a businessman, Mr. Gabbs became a partner in Jay's Displays and later formed Gabbs Store Equipment, specializing in store planning, design, contracting and fixture supply. He retired in 1988.
Ballroom dancing, competitive sailing and playing the trombone, often in Dixieland bands, occupied much of his leisure time.
He raced his Geary 18 sloop, A Belle, as a longtime member of the Mission Bay Yacht Club. "He would sail like a maniac," his wife said, "but after the race, he didn't care whether he won or lost."
Mr. Gabbs also maintained a 30-foot boat at San Diego Yacht Club, where he celebrated his 50th and 55th wedding anniversaries.
After buying a home on Pringle Street in Mission Hills more than 50 years ago, he acquired several nearby lots and designed and built several houses. "It was just a raw canyon, with no trees, when we moved in," his wife said. "Now it's like a park because he planted a number of trees and terraced the canyon."
Mr. Gabbs also was instrumental in lobbying the city to convert the abandoned Calvary Cemetery on Washington Place, which was a magnet for vandalism, into Calvary Pioneer Park. It was dedicated in December 1977.
In the early 1960s, as president of a March of Dimes chapter, Mr. Gabbs spearheaded a fund-raising drive that helped Jonas Salk realize his dream of creating an independent research center. The dream became a reality in 1963, when Salk, who developed the vaccine for polio, opened the Salk Institute in La Jolla.
Mr. Gabbs later served as president in San Diego of Meals on Wheels. In 1990, he was appointed to the county grand jury.
"How do you describe a guy like Al?" said King, his close friend. "He had more energy than anybody I've ever met."
Survivors include his wife, Anna Belle.
A celebration of life is scheduled for 11 a.m. Dec. 29 at the Great Hall in St. Paul's Cathedral, Sixth Avenue and Nutmeg Street, San Diego. Donations are suggested to a favorite charity.

Jack Williams: (619) 542-4587; jack.williams@uniontrib.com