THE founder of Kai Tak security company Securair and rugby fan Larry Abel was a 'star' who would be missed by his family and friends, his daughter Lorna said yesterday. Abel, 54, who died unexpectedly in his sleep on November 24, was well-known among Hong Kong's rugby fraternity. He had been made life president of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Club after being chairman for several years, she said. He had been director of the youth section since 1992, and an enthusiastic backer of the rugby scholarship fund and the New Year's Day tournament for the youngsters. Abel came to Hong Kong from the United Kingdom and joined the Hong Kong Police in 1962. After 12 years he founded Securair, of which he was director and general manager when he died. He married his wife Bee in Hong Kong, where his eldest child, 26-year-old Lorna, was born. He also had two sons, Crispin, 24, and 15-year-old John, who has just finished his first term at the sports-renowned Millfield School near Bath, southwest England. 'We're all rugby nuts,' said Lorna yesterday. Abel played initially for the police, but was forced to give up after damaging his knee in the 1960s. Among the charities the family has chosen to receive donations in lieu of flowers at today's service is the small British group, Men of the Trees. This aims to preserve UK village greenery, particularly the oaks and other old trees which are not easily replaced if removed. The others are Save the Whale, the Hong Kong charity Little Sisters of the Poor and the rugby scholarship fund.
