Robin Mallgren

Robin Roberts Mallgren was born in Olympia, Washington on December 20, 1947 to Dorothy and Orville Mallgren, and had an older sister, Jane. Born male, Robin was christened as “William.” His love of nature started with family camping trips to Graves Creek near Lake Quinault in the Olympic National Forest. In college he joined the Seattle Mountaineers, spending many happy days hiking, backpacking, camping, skiing, and even snow camping throughout Washington’s Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges. Bill attended the University of Washington, receiving a bachelors degree in Physics and Mathematics, followed by a M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science. He graduated Summa Cum Laude and as a Phi Beta Kappa key holder in 1981. His Ph.D. dissertation was one of three selected that year for publication as an “ACM Distinguished Dissertation” by the prestigious MIT Press. That year Robin joined Xerox software development in Palo Alto, California, quickly becoming a Team Leader developing Xerox Pro Illustrator and Xerox Chem Illustrator, software which ran on proprietary Xerox equipment. His design work was awarded several patents. It was at Xerox that Robin met his partner Janaia Donaldson, a graphic designer who through Robin’s tutelage became a software user interface designer. The two enjoyed backpacking, hiking and cross-country skiing in the Sierra Nevada and Olympic mountains and Alaska’s Denali State Park. Together they moved to Nevada City in 1990, becoming early telecommuters for Xerox, working from their off-grid home on 40 acres of forestland until 1998. They proceeded to buy three more contiguous 40-acre parcels and, following Robin’s vision, placed Conservation Easements on all four to protect them as wildlife habitat in perpetuity. Around age 48, Robin revealed that, although born male, his desire was to be a woman. With Janaia’s support, Robin transitioned to female gender from 1995-2001. This included her name change, and a “coming-out party” honoring her choice in 1997. The two were legally married in 2000, and Robin’s gender change surgery was in 2001. Visibly happier in her “new life,” Robin learned video and began recording presentations and events, and worked at the Nevada County Digital Media Center. It was a natural extension of Robin’s love of photography and skills with technology. From 2006-2018, Robin and Janaia produced a weekly video program titled “Peak Moment Television: Locally Reliant Living for Challenging Times.” Robin was the videographer and editor; Janaia was producer and interviewer. They traveled in their motorhome/studio several times in the Pacific Northwest to record over 350 programs with people living more sustainably and locally — e.g., permaculture, eco forestry, cooperatives, natural building. (See peakmoment channel on Youtube, or peakmoment.tv.) Robin and Janaia sang in the Sierra college choir for several years in the early 2000s, and then in 2017 began singing with the Yuba Spirit Threshold singers — gentle songs for those dying and in hospital. Robin loved drumming! Beginning with drum lessons in about second grade, Robin played percussion in marching bands from middle school through twelve years at UW, and enjoyed Conga lessons with local drummer Bob Scarlett. Friends found Robin to be kind and humble. With her accepting, open heart she listened compassionately when friends shared their difficulties or confusion, and often would offer a fresh perspective that brought them insight. Her awe and love of the natural world was a constant theme in her life, expressed through thousands of photos, and her idea to protect Lone Bobcat Woods as a wildlife preserve. Although otherwise healthy, Robin began showing signs of memory loss around 2014. The decline continued through the rest of her life. Not wanting to hide this fact, the couple wrote to family and friends about her condition. When Robin’s memory loss led to ending their Peak Moment TV programs in 2018, they turned to reducing the fuel load on their forest land in preparation for prescribed burns. Robin could wield a fine chainsaw! In the summer of 2021, the pair moved briefly to Tracy, living at Janaia’s mother’s home until they returned to western Nevada County in summer 2024. At that time, Robin moved into Banner Crest, a very small residential care facility in Nevada City where she was lovingly treated as family. She and Janaia continued singing, taking day-long trips into the countryside, and attending beloved choral concerts. Robin’s death on June 16, 2026 was preceded by a fall in mid-May, complicated by the Alzheimer’s disease. In her final month, Robin was her playful, sweet-natured and loving self, occasionally uttering profound statements like, “Everything is Here.” She continued singing and drumming right up to her last days, since music memory is unaffected by this dementia. Robin is survived by wife Janaia Donaldson, niece Michelle Huntington and nephew Tom Gallant, both of Alaska; Janaia’s mother Rowena and sister Terry Donaldson of Tracy, California. She will be missed by her close friend Joanne Hild, members of Yuba Spirit Threshold Singers, and many others whose lives were touched by this gentle, sensitive person.

Robin Mallgren

December 20, 1947 - June 16, 2026