By Guy Kovner
John Roberts was the kindest and gentlest soul many of us knew and loved. He died the morning of May 7 at the Santa Rosa care facility he had been obliged to live in with Annie, his wife, and Gus the cat.
John was a father and a carpenter, a pool shark, a whitewater rafter and Russian River kayaker. On any rafting trip with kids, John befriended and spent time with them, while the rest of us boatmen went about the chores of setting up a camp.
John was loved by all who knew him. We now count ourselves among the lucky ones who embraced him.
He lived with other families around the dome they built on steep, remote land in West County. The men were principals in an entity they called Ho Hum Con Co, a name that belied their commitment to their craft. They did a lot of work for a Dry Creek Valley vineyard and winery that rose to considerable prestige west of Healdsburg with Warm Springs Dam at the head of the valley.
The dome weathered wind, rain, heat and cold, and was a gathering place for its residents and their community of friends. Warmed by a wood stove fire, it was never known as anything but the dome.
John was also part of Nonesuch Whitewater, a river-running spinoff from an established West County private school. It ran what commercial boating companies called a pirate operation, because it took people down rivers at much lower cost, introducing them to realms they had never known, including three rivers flowing west out of the High Sierra — the American, Stanislaus and Tuolumne — a trio of escalating intensity, thrill and reward — and jovial John was a big part of it all.
Sadly, dementia threw a cloud over John, and cancer added to his woes as he moved into the care facility, first sharing an apartment with Annie and finally into a locked memory care unit where residents will not amble off by themselves.
We all miss you terribly, John.