Robin Rentsch

1938 - 2022

RENTSCH

ROBIN RENTSCH

Environmental activist, animal lover, and globe trotter Robin Ould Rentsch (formerly Sabin) passed away at the age of 83 on May 30, 2022. Usually surrounded by dogs and horses, Robin delighted in the world and all its creatures. She was born on June 27, 1938, in Roanoke, Virginia, to Edward Hatcher Ould Jr. and Madolyn Burruss Airheart. As a child, she spent countless hours exploring the neighborhood with the family hounds. She longed for horses, too, and became a skilled rider.



Her passion for travel was stoked during a junior year abroad at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. After graduating from Sweet Briar College in 1960, she moved to London and worked for Palestinian diplomat Musa Alami to help refugees in Jordan. She then embarked on a stint at USAID, in Washington, D.C., where she met her first husband, Frederic Sabin. When he arrived at her door for their first date, she appeared wearing only a trench coat and brandishing a gun. She had just taken a bath and thought she heard a prowler. Fred, a CIA officer, was smitten.



They married in 1963 and soon left for Beirut, where Robin earned a master's degree in Middle East Studies. The couple then spent nearly three years in Baghdad. During a stay back in the D.C. area, their daughter, Brooke, was born, and four months later, the family moved to Cairo. Robin immersed herself in its culture and history, riding Arabian horses in the desert and co-authoring a guidebook to the city's Islamic monuments (she donated her royalties to a local animal hospital). Sometimes, while walking the dog, she completed a dead drop for Fred. During a subsequent two-year posting in Amman, Robin studied archaeology and taught riding lessons to King Hussein's daughters.



In 1975, the family settled in Great Falls, Virginia, and Robin realized her dream of owning horses. She took charge as head of her daughter's pony club and before long oversaw all such clubs in Virginia. Exploring trails on horseback made her a passionate advocate for public access to nature. She worked with residents and local officials to improve trails and parks throughout the area, including the W&OD Trail, Frying Pan Farm Park, Riverbend Park, Potomac Heritage Trail, and Turner Farm Park.



After she and Fred divorced, Robin married her second husband, Sam, in 1991. She moved into his house in Glastonbury, Connecticut, helped with his in-home medical practice, and became a second mother and friend to his five grown children: Sammy, Shelley, Christi, Bonnie, and Rusty. Robin and Sam later donated the Connecticut home to the Nature Conservancy and headed south. Back in Great Falls, she led the successful effort to get the community certified as a wildlife habitat, co-designed a native-plant garden for the library, and became one of the first Fairfax County residents to place a conservation easement on personal property. When health issues began to arise, Robin and Sam moved to Ashby Ponds senior living community, but she always considered Great Falls home.



For her decades of volunteer work, Robin was given the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's Walter L. Mess Award, Virginia Horse Council's Outstanding Volunteer Award, Fairfax County Park Authority's Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award, and Fairfax County's Lady Fairfax Award. A county resolution recognized "her extraordinary contributions to improving the quality of life in Fairfax County."



Robin loved life and learning about its many facets. A master scuba diver and master gardener, this Renaissance woman also could make an éclair from scratch, debate Middle East politics, dance the Charleston, and take a chain saw to invasive vines. Always up for an adventure, she continued to roam the globe into her later years, often with Brooke. She was an extraordinarily devoted mother and generous friend, and someone who always wanted to make a positive difference in the world. Robin was a great inspiration to those who knew her.



Robin is predeceased by her brother, Edward Hatcher Ould III, and her husband, Samuel Burton Rentsch. She is survived by her daughter, Catherine Brooke Sabin (Jeff Watts); stepchildren, Sammy Rentsch, Shelley Rentsch (Bob Gill), Christi Moraga, Bonnie Blue (Tom Bradford), and Rusty Rentsch (Anya); six step-grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Betty Barr Ould; a niece, Elizabeth Ould Schnabel (Christian); a nephew, Edward Hatcher Ould IV; and several beloved cousins.



A celebration of life will be held in the fall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or the Nature Conservancy.