Retiree ‘fortunate’ to be helping others

“I had a challenging childhood,” admits Barbara Robbe, now a Petaluman after years in Healdsburg. “Moving all the time made me feel unsettled. I definitely had upset in my life. Marrying a really nice man is the smartest thing I ever did.”

After a constantly-shifting childhood, Robbe calls herself fortunate to live the life she now leads with Terry, her husband of 44 years. They met when she was working at Exchange Bank. That’s where she began her career right after high school, while attending classes at SRJC.

It’s largely because Robbe’s parents moved the family 18 times during her childhood that she and Terry treasured the stable home-life they established once settling in Healdsburg.

Two years ago, the retired couple moved to Petaluma to spend more time with granddaughters Cora, 7, and Elise, 10. Retired (again) from an office manager job, Robbe now arranges her schedule to be as present in her grandchildren’s lives as possible, while saving time to mentor a student at Casa Grande High School and volunteer at various school-related events.

Having been a ‘mentee’ herself for a brief time during middle school, Robbe knows the value of mentoring a youth, whose life is enriched by time spent with a caring adult.

Of her former mentor, Robbe says, “I still remember her to this day, even though it didn’t seem like a big deal at the time.”

Robbe enjoys working on remodeling houses. She found that her knack for organizing spaces was a handy attribute, when she turned her attention to helping the victims of last September’s devastating fire on Stuart Street. A member of the ‘I Love Petaluma’ page on Facebook, Robbe saw the posts about the fire, and set about seeing what she could do to lend a hand.

“I went to the bank (U.S. Bank inside Safeway) to make a donation,” she explains, “and asked if they were going to accept any items (for donation). She (U.S. Bank branch manager Jessica Tew) took my number and the next thing I knew, I was talking to Bruce (co-organizer Bruce Cohn). He said he would see about finding a space for the physical donations if I would manage them.”

An offshoot of ‘I Love Petaluma,’ the ‘Helping Petaluma’ Facebook group was formed with Cohn’s, Tew’s and Robbe’s input. Robbe says that Cohn spoke to Basin Street Properties, who arranged for them to use a vacant storefront on North McDowell Blvd., and Robbe went right to work.

Robbe was amazed at the outpouring of support offered by fellow Petalumans to help the fire victims.

“We had tons of clothing donated,” she says. “And if I posted, say, ‘A mom needs a crib,’ I’d have three calls offering free cribs that same afternoon. I thought that Petaluma really stepped up. It was very rewarding.”

According to Robbe, the experience was a remarkably effective way to become more familiar with her still-relativelynew community.

“I feel fortunate that I got to know so many people,” she says. “If there’s something that comes along again that I feel I could help out with, I will find a way to continue.”