Villa Marin residents live life to the fullest, exploring a variety of activities that bring them joy.
Tom Pallante & Grace Knight
Versatile Tom Pallante earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in electrical engineering from Cornell and an MBA from Harvard. His rich and varied professional career was capped with two years working for an investment firm on the Isle of Jersey. His wife, Grace Knight, enjoyed a 30-year career with United Airlines, which included a one-year educational sabbatical in Paris. She became one of only three women working at airlines to be granted a heavy equipment operator’s license. She has a private pilot’s license and is an avid sailor.
In Villa Marin’s resident-administered government, Tom plays an active role in two key committees: Finance and Facilities & Engineering, while Grace is an active member of the Environmental Committee.
Gail Wainwright
Gail grew up in Merced, California in a large family of builders and developers. With a B.A. in education from Cal Poly, she embarked on a career in teaching and counseling, but building and construction were in her blood. In time she became a professional building contractor, real estate broker, designer and developer. When her sons were young, the family lived for two years in Saudi Arabia. Gail has also lived in Hawaii and traveled five times to India. She is an accomplished artist, specializing in creative wall hangings.
At Villa Marin, Gail has made major contributions to enhancing the attractiveness of our public rooms and corridors.
Christopher Lawrence
New resident Chris Lawrence earned a bachelor’s degree from Humboldt University in 1978 and an MBA at Santa Clara University in 1986. His 40+ year career in the computer and telecommunications field culminated in an appointment as Director of Product Management at Nuance, a company that produces software that recognizes speech commands. On retirement, he enrolled in the theater department at Ohlone College. Chris has directed five plays and was the master carpenter in several others. He traveled widely with his late wife, Karen, and in early 2022 embarked for Norway to see the northern lights.
Chris plans an active retirement, participating in Villa Marin’s varied community activities and enjoying the many opportunities offered by this beautiful part of California.
Sally Williams
Sally Williams is an avid outdoor adventurer and loves spending time in her kayak or sailing on the bay with family and friends. After a day on the water, she enjoys relaxing in her beautiful condo home at Villa Marin, where she enjoys comfortable living with all the benefits of home ownership in addition to on-site healthcare.
Bruce & Barbara Baker
Bruce and Barbara Baker love to play the game of golf and knew when they moved to Villa Marin they would be able to play the various golf courses in and around Marin and Sonoma Counties. They do this many days each week.
Bruce is also very active as a Golf Rules Official with the Northern California Golf Association and the NCAA. He also co-founded Youth on Course which is a non profit organization that allows Boys and Girls, age 8 to 18, to play 18 holes of golf for $5.00. The program is now in all 50 States and all of Canada.
Bruce and Barbara love their Condo ownership and self governance of the Villa Marin and most importantly being with so many interesting, successful and friendly fellow residents.
Bob & Sue Spofford
Bob and Sue Spofford settled into San Rafael after years of traveling with Bob’s career in the corporate world. They now enjoy living at Villa Marin, which provides them convenient access to McInnis Park where they enjoy bird watching. They also enjoy the benefits of home ownership and love the comfort and security of Villa Marin taking care of their home, meals, and healthcare.
Anne Cohen
In 1963 Anne began a 20-year stint at the Smithsonian Institution, first as a technician, then as a specialist in crustaceans. On learning to scuba dive, she made several trips to the Belize barrier reefs, and eventually earned her Ph.D. with a study of ostracods, firefly-like underwater creatures known for their beautiful mating displays.
She continued this research at UCLA, retiring after 14 years as a Full Prof. [Research]. On her late husband Dan’s retirement they moved to Bodega Bay in 1996, where Anne continued her research at home and at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. Anne is a member of the Society of Women Geographers and a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences.
As a member and past chair of Villa Marin’s Environmental Committee, Anne has worked zealously to improve our community’s environmental consciousness.