Miss you Dan.  I so enjoyed our phone conversations as we both dealt with PC.  A good friend who can find?  I found one in you! May memories of your kind and positive spirit continue to bless your family and friends.  So thankful you are fellowshipping with Jesus face to face.  Looking forward to seeing you again one day!  Dale

Missing you Dan.  Your positive attitude toward life and whatever you were facing was always an encouragement to me.  A friend forever!

I loved going to visit with my uncle for the holidays. My most favorite memory is when told him that I joined the Army he talked to me about how his life was changed when he served and he let me know how proud he was of me. 

A remembrance in two parts of Daniel Robbins from his brother-in-law, Jack Aslanian, and his wife, Mary (Part II).

There are several keywords that for us fittingly characterize Dan:

Humor — Many times he fooled me into thinking that something he’d just said was an invitation to a serious discussion, but in fact it would turn out that he had been ribbing me... And I could hear long distance deep satisfaction the moment he was sure that it had dawned on me that he had been joking. In the same vein, you could hear the glee when he and Alice called and in unison sang a birthday or Christmas time jingle, with Dan both conducting and cheerleading. And lest anyone forgot, he was proud that MacDonald’s — his Macdonald’s — got its start in his hometown. Where’s that, Dan? I, a devotee of In & Out can’t resist ribbing him back.

A few more key words and catch-phrases of how people saw Dan: patient to a fault, resolved, disciplined, positive thinker, and yet competitive; a world traveler, who was intensely curious and interested in the places and people he and Alice encountered in their enriching travels — to 37 countries, with Ireland his favorite.  He consistently impressed me by how up to date he was on the news, local, national, and international. Among Dan’s favorite words and phrases were: “soon”, “hey kiddo”, “5:15 at the corner” — the last referring to after gym Monday evening supper dates with Alice.

Aesthetics — In one bit of memory I’m standing a few paces from a tree in Larkspur near San Francisco, and Dan, with real delight, rushes across the street to take a photo of the tree in setting sunlight. I quickly move out of the frame.

He had a deep capacity to find delights and wonders, and to marvel. And it seemed that his commitment to the arts was his way of paying back for those marvelous moments of communion he enjoyed with nature and people. The appreciation of nature, color, sunsets, greenery, and sound drove him to diverse artistic and creative endeavors — 

A remembrance in two parts of Daniel Robbins from his brother-in-law, Jack Aslanian, and his wife, Mary (Part I).

It is has been said that a person does not die as long as there are people alive who remember him. So in that spirit we honor and celebrate Dan and sustain his memory.

Ironically, the first time I met Dan was at a funeral in the Armenian Church in Oakland. Alice and Dan had not yet married. Our aunt had just passed on. I remember Dan wore a trench coat, one hand on the crook of an umbrella, the other on Alice’s shoulder. He stood tall and straight, solemn and reassuringly supportive. And Mary and I thought that our aunt also would have liked him ... and our mother as well. And how correct we were in that first impression.

While compiling this in draft form, I realized how much certain words kept coming up to characterize Dan’s consistent and unwavering way of being and relating, his way of standing, walking, connecting, and talking:...

poise, composure, serenity, focus, willpower to stay centered, alertness to people and surroundings, self-confidence, steadfastness, a gracefulness going through life, patience.

Over time Mary and I noted and admired these traits, which made him not only an exemplary, confidence inspiring, and no doubt both collegially and publicly popular law enforcement officer and leader, but also an all-around human being... Dan is among the small group of people I would have no hesitation describing as “amazing” and “genuine”.

Mary and I also were most impressed by Dan’s ability to make contact with people he had just met, from whatever walk of life. In his relationships with people there was a gentleness, openness, and true good will. He had a lifetime subscription to kindness which he dispensed effortlessly and unstintingly, wholeheartedly supporting people — like a trusted policeman of the beat, like a big brother, or a grandfather, or a neighbor.


More picture memory from the Selkirk Row families, it was our Christmas gathering on December 16, 2017.
Hugs
An-Di, Linh and Thanh

I was a police officer with SBPD for 32 years. Dan was one of my favorite Chiefs. 

He was very personable and kind hearted. Dan treated me with respect, always had time to say “hello”  and greet you with his smile.  

He was a great representative of our profession. 

Thank you Dan for your service to the SBPD. 

God Bless you Brother 

Here is some memories...as a kid he was always the last to leave the dinner table as he was always talking but mostly making us laugh. He was a very picky eater, veal cutlet was something he liked a lot but of course he always had to have catchup ON EVERYTHING especially his scrambled eggs...he knew I loved th L.A. Dodgers and the pitcher Sandy Koufax was my idol. One day I came home and he surprised me with Sandy’s new autobiography autographed. That was a big deal...I was bullied in high school terribly and my brother went to the school and made them aware of it and things got better for me...pretty much every night as a teen he’d fall asleep with his big pillow and bare feet watching t.v. As time went by my parents just let him be, eventually late in the night, he’d make his way to his real bed...

I’m still having trouble processing the fact my brother has passed away but I’m sure in time I’ll get there but for now it is so hard to imagine the world without my brother Danny in it.  He’s always been there, so full of life and goodness. The world just seems a little sadder now as we mourn this very special soul. 

I am Thanh and with my wife, Linh and our son An-Di.  We moved from Encinitas, CA to live right next to Dan and Alice almost two years ago.  Even with a short period of time but it seems like we know each other’s for a life time.   We though that our life will be simple and quiet in a cul de sac street but we immediately realize the infectious energy come from Dan and Alice.  We were fortunate to have many times visiting Dan and Alice’s home for a meal, listening to Dan and Alice’s stories about their childhood, careers, travel, their love for each other but the most treasure part is to listen to Dan’s deep-warm vocal ability, especially seeing the video that he was singing at UCSD vocal classroom, My Way.  Dan has transcended this song to another level that we all can related to the life that we have lived thus far.  Dan will be living in all of us every time this song is playing.   He touched our hearts with his vocal and we will miss him dearly and our hearts are heavy as we are moving forward.
Hugs,
An-Di, Linh and Thanh
The attached picture was taken with Dan and Alice at Poway Performing Art Center on March 10, 2019


Dan started with the SBPD about the same time I started with SB Co. Probation and over the years with grew to be fiends and colleagues. We had the chance to innovate programs together and I had the honor of seeing him become Chief while serving on the City Council. He was a very sensitive and thought full person who  is no doubt resting in heaven. Rest in peace Dan.

Dan has been a good friend since we first met at SBPD in the late '70s.  He was a quality person, full of encouragement and always seemed to live above the difficulties that life brings with a smile and positive attitude.  Dan was a thoughtful, caring and capable leader as well as being incredibly talented artistically.  He loved and valued his family and friends and was a man of faith.  I will especially miss our many years of phone conversations where he invariably had kind words of encouragement and often helped me refocus on issues due to his wisdom and fresh perspective.  I know he is with Jesus and look forward to seeing him again.  I ask God's blessings on Alice, Andi and the rest of the family.  Dan, you are dearly missed because you loved and served so well!  Dale Schlack, former SBPD Chaplain

My sincere condolences to Andrea and the family of Chief Robbins.  He was a true gentleman and an exemplary leader.

Dan was one of the few nicest men at the Department that I ever knew.  I retired in 1988 but had the occasion to return to San Bernardino years later.  I stopped into the Chief's Office and he received me graciously.  He was one of my few "fans" I had, having been the first female officer to graduate from the Academy.  He always treated me with respect, knowing what I had been putting up with all the years I was there.  Someone had to be the first and weather the resistance storms of a previously all-male Department.  All I can say is that I served to the best of my ability, knowing that no matter what I did, it wouldn't be enough for some people,  Dan was sympathetic and encouraging, and I thank him profusely for that.  But that was the man he was, a Champion for what was right and just.  His loss is monumental to his family and friends, the Department, and this Earth.  Godspeed, Dan, take your place in Heaven that you deserve.

OBITUARY

Daniel Allen Robbins

November 3, 1943 – March 17, 2019

El Camino Memorial - Sorrento Valley & Memorial Park

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