Robert Sheridan Linnell

Long-time Fullerton resident and champion of neighborhood preservation, Robert Linnell passed away on October 15th in his historic home on Malvern Avenue while in hospice care. He was “Bob” to everyone. It even said so on his license plate. He is preceded in death by his parents Hugh and Joan Linnell and his brother Richard, all of Long Beach. A lifelong bachelor, Bob had no living relatives, but he had a huge family of friends, neighbors, and co-workers. He was 81.

Bob grew up in Long Beach, California, where he attended Long Beach Poly High School and Long Beach City (now Community) College before venturing off to USC in the 1960s to get a Bachelor of Architecture where he made many lifelong friends (he went back to USC and eventually earned a Master of Urban Design). The world beckoned and Bob joined the Peace Corps serving in Tunisia for three years in the 1970s. Returning home, he landed a job working for the City of Fullerton as a Planner. He quickly purchased his historic home and planted his gardens. After working for over 30 years, he retired but still needed to earn Medicare credits by working in the private sector. He went to work part-time for the large sign company Outdoor Dimensions in their Codes and Permitting department (right up Bob’s alley). He was their code expert but was known for much more than that. He enjoyed it so much he continued working there long past earning all those credits. Those “OD” folks joined Bob’s growing family of friends.

In addition to his love of the beach, USC football and winter sports, “Historic” and “Gardens” became Bob’s side passions. He volunteered for years with Fullerton Beautiful, the Arboretum, and Fullerton Heritage. While serving with Fullerton Beautiful, he was Membership Chair and helped to select the gardens for the popular annual garden tours. He was always at Arbor Day plantings with his gloves and shovel ready. Most recently he had been working with City staff on plant selection for the Hunt Branch Library and collecting signatures for homes that wanted Jacarandas planted in their parkways on Jacaranda Avenue. The Arboretum benefitted from Bob’s countless volunteer hours working in the gift shop. In fact, if you wanted to go to Wahoo’s lunch with Bob, it had to fit into his Arboretum volunteer schedule. Bob was a tremendous asset to the work of Fullerton Heritage, serving on the Board of Directors and as Secretary for decades. With his COF planning expertise, he was able to "educate" the revolving door of new City planning staff on the particulars of neighborhood preservation zones. For decades, Bob helped to compile the nominations for Fullerton properties that were designated Fullerton Local Landmarks or listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His most recent collaboration, the Lower Golden Hill Historic District designation, was recently approved by the City Council on October 6 as Bob slipped away.

As friends and neighbors came together in Bob’s final days and shared stories, we realized that probably none of us knew the whole Bob, but our shared bits and pieces made us aware even more of how fortunate we were to have been part of Bob’s family.

Bob requested no formal services. McAulay Wallace is handling the arrangements. Thoughts and memories can be made on their website (https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/fullerton-ca/robert-linnell-13077406). Donations in Bob’s name can be made to The Prostate Cancer Foundation (Santa Monica), The USC School of Architecture, Providence St. Jude Memorial Foundation; CSUF Philanthropic Foundation for The Fullerton Arboretum and Fullerton Heritage.