John Donald Robb Jr

John Donald Robb Jr., an award-winning lawyer who was also a passionate and tireless advocate of the poor and homeless, died on July 13 2014 at the age of 90. He was the much beloved father of John D. Robb III, Celeste Robb-Nicholson, Ellen Bea Robb, Bradford Hight Robb, George Geoffrey Robb, and David Robb. He also leaves 20 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren and is survived by his two sisters, Priscilla McDonnell and Nancy Briggs. His wife of 68 years, Peggy, died in May. John moved to New Mexico to be with his parents John and Harriet Robb, who moved to Albuquerque in 1941. John’s father was the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at UNM and founded the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music and UNM’s Robb Musical Trust, which John eagerly supported during the past 25 years. John was educated at Yale and UNM, and received his law degree from the University of Minnesota. He was proud to be a partner of the Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin and Robb law firm in Albuquerque, where since 1951 he focused mainly on environmental and natural resources law and litigation. At the national level, he served as the past National Chairman of the American Bar Association Committee on Atomic Energy and also as National Chairman of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants which propelled him into a special calling to fight for equal justice before the law for the poor and homeless in our country. He helped establish the Legal Services Corporation, a federally funded program to provide legal aid for those who cannot afford it.