Video displaying scenes from Royal Oaks, a HumanGood Life Plan Community in Bradbury, California

Rob

His Next Frontier Is a Better World

During his career at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, mechanical and systems engineer Rob deployed spacecraft to orbit planets hundreds of millions of miles away, providing a peek at the icy blades of Saturn’s rings and the swirling storms above Jupiter. 

He helped design, launch and operate orbiters and the Viking orbiter/landers that viewed the desolate valleys of Mars.

But now the Royal Oaks resident is focused on a planet much closer to home: Earth.

And he is dedicated to taking steps to fight climate change. He does his part to reduce his own impact, including reusing the water from his shower on his plants, keeping the air conditioning no lower than 78 degrees and driving his old Prius.

“We need to be better stewards of the earth,” Rob says.

Rob’s focus on climate change began two decades ago when he came across the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The more he read, the more concerned he got.

“This is the most important, biggest and most complex engineering problem I’ve ever seen,” he says.

Since moving to Royal Oaks, he has been working to educate residents and staff about the implications of climate change and what positive steps they can take in their own lives by writing articles in the newsletter. He has even contacted HumanGood’s CEO to advocate for more sustainable practices in the company’s communities, and he says he’s encouraged by the positive reception.

“I’m optimistic we can do some things that make a difference,” he says.

An image is etched in his mind: a photo taken by the Apollo astronauts from the moon of the beautiful blue and white marble that is Earth.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Rob says. “We grew up here; we exist here; it’s home. We need to take action to save it.”

Jean

Taking Life in Stride

It’s 5:30 in the morning, and Jean is tying up the laces of her black New Balance walking shoes for her daily 45-minute walk on the path. On Wednesdays, she and a group of friends walk 3 miles round trip to a local restaurant for breakfast.

She hasn’t slowed down a bit since her time as a star basketball player in North Carolina, a state where the sport is like a religion. From before sunrise into the evening, her days are packed with friends and activities, from putting on the Royal Oaks green to attending two book clubs. She’s also a huge fan of pool volleyball.

“I’m always busy,” the former high school physical education teacher says.

And as she strolls the paths from one activity to the next, she’s always on the lookout for birds. The passionate birder has seen multiple species, including scrub jays, nuthatches, robins and orioles, on the lush Royal Oaks campus.

“The mockingbirds are going crazy right now!” Jean, who has eight bird feeders on her four patios, says.

Jean also enjoys the people who make up the Royal Oaks community and learning about their lives.

“There’s always interesting people to talk to,” she says.

Jean found her way to California when her late husband, Hank’s, aerospace career brought them westward. When they grew tired of the upkeep of their large house, they moved into a spacious ground-floor apartment at Royal Oaks. She was drawn to the community’s beautiful trees, trails and wildlife. It’s also close to her three sons, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, allowing her to see them often.

Her passion for the community led her to become a Royal Oaks ambassador.

Jean thoroughly enjoys welcoming new residents to the community.

“I hope to help newcomers feel at home quickly so they can discover all of the things Royal Oaks has to offer,” she says.

Patty

Flying Feats and Rhythmic Beats

It was 17 years ago that a friend invited Patty to watch her teach a tap dance class at the Pasadena Senior Center. Although she was wearing sandals that day, she was invited to join in.

“And I never stopped,” she says.

Today, Patty is a proud member of Pam Kay and The Tap Chicks, a troupe of a dozen women that perform in front of audiences young and old to songs such as “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” At times, she feels so exhilarated that she lets out a jubilant whoop.

Anyone watching Patty dance would never guess she spent 34 years in law enforcement. “Tap dancing is more my speed these days,” Patty says. “It feels wonderful.”

It was The Tap Chicks that brought Patty to Royal Oaks. The group performed at several venues around the area, and when they came to Royal Oaks, she was immediately drawn to the mountainside community. She found it warm and inviting, and the natural setting reminded her of her own home in the hills of Sunland.

“I thought if I ever moved, it would be to Royal Oaks,” she says. “But I didn’t think I would ever move.”

When she lost her husband, she found her large home with its corral, pool and orchard too difficult to maintain on her own. And with recent fires in the area, her children, who lived far away, worried about her.

Once Patty decided to move, Royal Oaks made it easy for her. They connected her to a moving service company that took care of every aspect of her move, from deciding what furniture to bring to hanging her clothes in her new closet.

“If it wasn’t for that, I don’t know if I could have done it,” she says.

Patty quickly got into the rhythm of Royal Oaks. She loves its many activities, especially fiercely competitive chair volleyball. And she still has plenty of time to tap.

Dick

In Mint Condition

Dick has put a lot of miles on his 1930 two-tone green Ford Model A Tudor. He has driven the back roads of Austria, France and Germany, over the Alps into Italy and through the Maritime Provinces in Eastern Canada. 

Closer to home, you might see him taking his car for a spin to the nearby supermarket.

“It looks brand-new — exactly like it did when Ford manufactured it,” Dick, a Royal Oaks resident, says.

After retirement, when he had extra time on his hands, he was searching for a hobby. He tried woodworking, but it required too much equipment. He always had a bug for restoring old cars, and it seemed like the ideal hobby for him, a mechanical engineer who spent his career in the aerospace industry developing sensors for rockets. So, he bought his first car: a Model A coupe. 

Since then, he has restored eight Model As, including a Woody, and he’s found camaraderie with the Santa Anita As, a club of 50 other Model A aficionados. He enjoys the process of taking the cars apart, rebuilding them and selling them. But he has no plans to ever let go of his beloved Model A Tudor.

Dick jokes that Norma, his wife, “tolerates” his hobby. Although he says a month of driving through Europe with no air conditioning, no heat and no radio was “the most wonderful experience of my life,” it wasn’t exactly a dream vacation for her. She much prefers the cruises coordinated by a travel agent for Royal Oaks residents.

“We have everything we need here at Royal Oaks — especially a two-car garage in our cottage, the perfect home for my Model A,” he says.