Coach Ron Tybor’s Life Was Woven Into St. Pius X
For generations of St. Pius X students, Coach Ron Tybor was hard to miss. He might be on the sideline, in a classroom, leading an intramural game or walking the halls with a camera around his neck. Years later, he might turn up at their class reunion with photographs and a slideshow that brought it all back.
Coach Tybor died September 6, 2026, at age 89. He joined St. Pius X in 1966 and served the school for more than 50 years, teaching, coaching, photographing school life and keeping its history alive. His employment with the school ended in 2018, but his connection to its people did not. He kept in touch with hundreds of alumni and attended reunions year after year. He called the former students who remained close to him his “Happy Helpers.”
Born in Houston Texas, in 1937, Ron Tybor came to Albuquerque to attend St. Joseph’s College on the Rio Grande. There he met Sandra (Firestone) whom he married in 1963. Before coming to St. Pius X in 1966, he taught and coached for six years at Lourdes High School.
At St. Pius X, Coach Tybor coached varsity basketball from 1966 to 1973, along with four years of JV basketball. He coached varsity baseball from 1968 to 1971, golf from 1975 to 1979, and varsity and JV softball from 1980 to 1984. He served as athletic director from 1968 to 1971. He also led the intramural program and served as the school’s photographer and historian from 1966 to 2019.
Those dates show how much he did, but former students remember how he did it. In memories shared after his passing, they describe a teacher who made them laugh, a coach who helped them grow up and a friend who still made time for them decades later. Many remember the pictures he took and carefully organized, preserving parts of their school years they might otherwise have forgotten.
Coach Tybor made room for fun, too. There were the Apathy Club and Breakfast Club, reunion slideshows, and Friday night scary movies in the gym or cafeteria. His obituary recalled the invitation: “Bring your pillow, lay on the floor, one dollar for entry.” It also recalled his habit of requesting a recount whenever he received an honor. He was named Coach of the Year in 1971, and Albuquerque declared October 20, 2018, “Coach Ron Tybor Day.”
His humor was one way he connected with people; his faith was another steady part of his life. He served as a Eucharistic minister and spoke often of how blessed he felt by Sandra, their family, his friends and his former students. In his obituary, he described God, family, photography and educating as some of his greatest joys. He said he had “never” had a job because the work he did felt like a joyful hobby.
One lesson he wanted others to carry was simple: “Failure is an event, not a person. Don’t be afraid to fail.” It is easy to imagine how many students needed to hear that from their coach or teacher. It is just as easy to see, in the stories alumni are sharing now, how many held onto it.
Coach Tybor is survived by Sandra, their children Blaise and Deidre, and a large family. He also leaves behind generations of Sartans who knew him as Coach. St. Pius X School leadership holds the Tybor family, his friends and former students in prayer, with gratitude for the life he shared with this community.
A Rosary will be prayed in St. Sebastian Gymnasium on the campus of St. Pius X School on Saturday, September 26, at 9:30 a.m., followed by Mass at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Casa Angelica in Coach Tybor’s memory.
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