Roberta Louise (Robinson) Baber was born to Perry Kenneth Robinson and Emo Gibson (Cronkrite) Robinson on September 9, 1943, in Ventura, California. Roberta joined her older brother, Perry Kenneth Robinson II (later Scott Johnson), in the Robinson household. During her childhood, Roberta thrived in school, sports, and family activities in both Ojai and Ventura. During her teen years, she stepped up to help her family after her mother had a health crisis. This led to a lifelong belief that housework was highly overrated and that the whole point of making money was to have enough money to hire people to help out. Upon graduation from Ventura High School in 1961, Roberta proceeded to pursue her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in Los Angeles. She graduated in 1965 with her B.S. in Mathematics from California State University, Los Angeles, and immediately launched a career in computer science. She was among just a few women in the computer industry and eagerly dove in to make a difference as a computer programmer and later a systems analyst. Roberta met James "Jim" Thompson Baber through work at Lockheed as they were both employed as computer programmers. They dated and were married in December 1968. In 1973, Jim and Roberta welcomed their first child, Erin Marie. During her maternity leave, Roberta started working on her master’s in business administration (MBA). In 1975, Roberta gave birth to her second child, Gregory Allen. Always effective, Roberta completed her MBA while on maternity leave with Greg. Roberta loved to share that the benefits of reading to children can include reading textbooks just as well. Roberta and Jim had many hobbies that they shared, like skiing, but one of their passions was rally racing. Rally racing combined Jim’s love of driving and Roberta’s love of mathematics and telling Jim what to do. They won many rally races, even winning a race the day Greg was born, which she would attribute to Greg’s insistence and ended up keeping the trophy in his room as a remembrance. Roberta’s passion for business and computers remained consistent through a variety of positions. It was after a family move to the mountains outside of Fresno, California, that gave Roberta the opportunity to start teaching computers. The combination of her early love of learning and her varied experiences as a computer professional led into a teaching career that spanned more than 30 years and touched countless people. Roberta found endless joy in teaching computers to college students. She shared that joy with colleagues who grew into a family of choice. Her teaching career brought several joys not the least of which was the opportunity to co-author a textbook with her dear friend, Marilyn (Meyer) Behringer. Roberta and Marilyn traveled the United States encouraging the adoption of their textbook at colleges and universities. The book’s success only pales in comparison to the joy and friendship between the pair. During her teaching career, Roberta took great joy in helping student athletes, and could be found at most of the sporting events at FCC both as a spectator as well as volunteering to help with the events themselves. The coaches eventually encouraged their students to Roberta’s classes, as they knew that she would encourage and inspire the athletes, while also holding them responsible for their own work. These athletes appreciated her help and were frequently glad to have someone who believed in them. In 2009 after years of health struggles, Roberta’s husband passed away. After Jim’s passing Roberta dove deep into improving her health. She worked hard on healthier eating and exercise. Eventually Roberta had developed an exercise routine that often included as much as an hour and a half of exercise every day. Upon her retirement from teaching in 2011, Roberta had even more time to exercise and live life fully. In 2018 Roberta took the opportunity to move along with her son, Greg, to Hollister, California. Hollister gave her the opportunity to enjoy the type of weather that everyone associates with California… and the coastal weather she enjoyed in her youth. She was an active volunteer with the thrift store for the Hollister Hospital where she made several friends. Coinciding with the very start of COVID, Roberta had a small stroke that left her with some minor mobility challenges. However, based on the experience she decided to relocate to Pennsylvania near her daughter, Erin. In June 2020, Roberta moved into the continuing care retirement community of Paramount in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania. While the weather paled in comparison to the coastal weather in Hollister, Roberta’s time at Paramount Senior Living provided her the opportunity to make even more friends. Despite efforts to live healthy, Roberta faced increasing health challenges. Under the care of many caring health professionals, Roberta valiantly fought against congestive heart failure and kidney failure. Unfortunately, she succumbed to heart failure on June 23, 2025. Roberta is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Erin and Hank; her son, Greg; nephews and nieces; and numerous friends including many who feel like family. In honor of Roberta’s joy for life, humor, and a good story, the family asks that you upload any of your favorite memories or stories for us all to appreciate. A memorial service will be held at a date to be announced later in Fresno, California. Should you want to donate in Roberta’s name, please choose an organization that supports STEM education for women and girls or educational support for collegiate athletes.
