Robert Emmette Mankin, born December 7^th, 1945, in Riverside, California, passed away October 6^th at his home in Ojai CA. Bob grew up in San Bernardino and graduated from Pacific High School in 1963. He attended Valley Junior College and later UCLA studying psychology. He worked at Patton State Hospital, and later, Camarillo State Hospital, where he participated in a ground-breaking therapeutic methodology under Dr. Canton. Along the way, he married Patti Dailey and had his first child, William. He carried much of what he learned during that time throughout his life, helping family and friends deal with the difficult things life can bring.

In the early 1960's, Bob was walking by the famous John's At The Beach at the end of Seaward. He heard some blues emitting from the club and immediately had to go in to check out the band. Then16-year-old Tim Buley was playing lead guitar as if his life depended on it, ​and Bob was hooked. Soon, he was part of the Tim Buley Blues band, with Pat and Tim Buley and harp player extraordinaire, John "Hohner La Rosa" Philips. They played everywhere: The Cheetah, The Kaleidoscope, Ashgrove, Galaxy, Ventura's own Back Door, and many more. They opened for Canned Heat, Taj Mahal with Jesse Ed Davis, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Lee Michaels. They played the Robert Kennedy rally at the Ventura shopping center attended by hundreds just days before Bobby was assassinated. They were offered a contract with Elektra Records, which fell to the wayside as the band was not ready to commit. They recorded a first single, “To You I Am Devoted” and a Sam Cooke tune “A Change Is Gonna Come”, the promos of which mysteriously disappeared.

The times were wild and troubled. One of the gigs played was at a Vietnam War protest in the parking lot of the Bank of America in Isla Vista which ended in the bank being infamously burned to the ground by a few of the protesters. As time went on, the times mellowed and so did the band. Bob and his family moved to Creek Road in Ojai, and had a little acreage to spread out on. He and Patti separated but remained amicable until her death in 2018.

While continuing to spend time with a wide variety of musicians doing gigs, Bob also spent time in places of higher education: Ventura College to study Music, and UCLA to study Family Social Science. Later, he had a longtime day job with Ventura County Mental Health as a therapist between 1967-1978. His kindness and willingness to help the human condition made him a natural for this. Over the years, Bob frequently offered assistance to friends, many times fellow musicians, who had fallen on hard times - offering them a room, a bed for the night or longer, and many meals. He was the epitome of a mentor, one who selflessly offers a helping hand.

The late 1990s was the beginning of the internet and Bob enjoyed puttering with computers. He especially enjoyed playing “Antagonist Trivia” on AOL. It was there he met Cheryl Andersen, who was playing the same game across the country in Boston. They began an online communication that later led to their marriage in Boston in 2000, and the birth of their son Emmett Murphy. He became a wonderful father to Cheryl's son Eric. He was thrilled when his son Bill was able to join the family in Ojai, and it helped make his last years very happy ones. In 2021, he and Cheryl celebrated twenty-one wonderful years of marriage, against all the odds.

During the Thomas Fire, Bob was exposed to smoke and toxic ash that exacerbated his COPD, and led eventually to his health failing. He died suddenly and peacefully during the night of October 6^th, 2021. He will be greatly missed by the many that he touched. He leaves behind his wife Cheryl, his sons William Noriega, Eric Andersen, and Emmett Mankin, as well as his sister Merridee Johnson and her husband Terry of Lake Elsinore, his nephew Brian and niece Kelsey, and his cousins Kevin, Lisa and Kerry Knox. He loved many, was loved by many, and will be sorely missed.

 Thank you to Merridee Johnson and Susan Buley Crawford for their extremely helpful contributions to this obituary. Family is everything.