John Edward “Santa” Tobey, 67, of Driftwood suddenly passed away on Monday August 16, 2010.

Wife, Betsy, two sons, Matthew and Scott and two sisters, Joanne Tobey Donn and Sue Tobey White, along with many other relatives, survive him.

Born in 1943, Johnny served in the National Guard during the Vietnam War and he retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Houston in 199l. With his snow-white hair and beard, blue eyes, red cheeks and “appropriate” physique, Johnny was perhaps best known and loved as “Santa Claus” and he served in that capacity in the Baybrook and Galleria Malls in Houston for many years. He enjoyed life to the fullest, particularly when he and his wife lived on Tiki Island, TX. There, he was a charter member of the Tiki Island Chapel, a volunteer fireman and the Emergency Management Coordinator, a job at which he excelled to such a degree that all hurricanes during his watch landed elsewhere. He was also a gourmet chef (he won several cooking awards), an excellent wine maker (and an even better wine drinker), a sailor, a fisherman, and a stained glass artist. As you drive through Tiki, you can see many of the glass windows he created, particularly a very large one for the Tiki Island Chapel.

For the past four years, Johnny and his wife have enjoyed being caretakers on a ranch in Driftwood. The horses and dogs will miss him as much as us. He was a gentle, kind man who made all laugh with his unique sense of humor.

Memorial services were held Saturday, August 28th at the Harrell Funeral Home in Austin with a celebration of his life reception afterwards at Lake and Creek Horse Ranch in Driftwood. Memorial contributions can be made to The Tiki Island Chapel, 835 Tiki Drive, Tiki Island, TX 77554.