Who was Robin Paul?

Photo provided by Jennifer Paul Terpstra

Robin Louise Paul was the daughter of William Glae Paul, Jr. and Phyllis Jean Hammond. She was born on October 21, 1948 in Los Angeles, California. Robin was the second of four children in the Paul household. Her siblings were Judith Carolyn Paul, Stuart Hammond Paul, and Jennifer Sue Paul.

Her father “Bill” grew up in California, graduated from Stanford University and served in the U.S. Army during World War II (1943-1947). He attended Officers training School at Aberdeen, Maryland and left the service with the rank of First Lieutenant. He was a successful hydraulic equipment business owner. Her mother Phyllis, a native of Berkeley, California, also graduated from Stanford University and served as a draftsman designing parts for Liberty Ships at Kaiser Shipbuilding in Oakland, California during World War II.

The Paul family moved to Yorba Linda in 1955 when they bought a 2 acre parcel of land on Highland Avenue and built a home there. The children attended the Richard Nixon Elementary School (now the site of the Nixon Library). Phyllis became an active member of the Yorba Linda Service League and the Littlest Angel Guild of the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. She was President of the Yorba Linda Country Club women’s group and wrote for two Orange County newspapers. Both Bill and Phyllis were avid golfers and both became deeply involved with the Yorba Linda Homeowners Association’s two efforts to incorporate the city of Yorba Linda. Bill was appointed as the first Chairman of the Yorba Linda Planning Commission.

Robin was nine years and ten months old when she died on August 27, 1958 as a result of an accident while riding her bike down the street from her home. She was buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, California. Her parents established the Robin Paul Memorial Fund of the Yorba Linda District Library. The funds realized were used to commission a mural for the library by local artist Allan Blanchard Hall. The mural was displayed on the wall behind the main checkout desk for many years before being moved to the library community room.