I am very sad to report that our great friend and Sierra Chapter Past President Rob Salaber passed away over the holidays. Many of us had just seen Rob at the APWA Support Staff Appreciation Luncheon in December and he was all smiles and laughing as was his usual. The news of his passing was a major shock to all of us, he was only 58. Rob was President of the Sierra Chapter back in the old “CELSOC” days. His term, 2004 to 2005, was squeezed between Tom Blackburn (2003-2004) and Ron Heinzen (2005-2006). Rob also went on to serve as President of ACEC-CA from 2007 to 2008 as well as National Director in 2011. His accomplishments were many and I won’t try to list them all here but he was a true giant in our industry. His obituary is attached to the newsletter and provides more details on his life. Rob attended many of our Past President’s Dinners over the years and always had great stories to tell and passions to promote. A photograph from our 2017 dinner is below. We all loved Rob and will miss him dearly. I can only imagine how he is shaking things up in heaven as we speak! Rest in peace my friend…………
Robert Louis Salaber Jr.
Robert “Rob” Louis Salaber Jr., age 58, passed away suddenly and without pain on December 25, 2022, in Caldwell, Idaho. 
He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, and coach. Known for his larger-than-life personality, Rob was a free-thinker and a steadfast leader. Anyone who knew Rob understood the profound love and pride he had for his family. He spent his last day celebrating the holidays and enjoying the company of his wife, children, and their spouses.
Rob was born on December 26, 1963 in San Francisco, CA, and was raised in Marin County. He attended UC Berkeley, where he played Varsity Rugby and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Rob began his career working for the Caltrans Office of Structure Construction from 1988 to 1994. During that time, he managed the disaster response and recovery on the Cypress Structure following the Loma Prieta Earthquake. From 1994 to 1999, he worked as a Senior Vice President for Vali Cooper and Associates. Then in 1999, Rob started his own construction and project management company, Salaber Associates, Inc (SAI). He was a proud and vocal ACEC member, serving as President from 2007 to 2008 and National Director from 2009 to 2011. After raising his family and building a thriving rugby empire in Dixon, California, Rob pursued a new dream of relocating his home and expanding SAI’s business to Caldwell, Idaho, where he had resided since 2019.
Rob had an unyielding pursuit of knowledge and purpose and he placed high values on world travel and humanitarianism. He loved being an engineer because he felt construction and public works projects provided an inherent service to humanity. This desire to serve others drove him to coach rugby at all levels and to establish a fund to support an orphanage in Nepal, Saving One Another. These efforts created what he called “ripples”—ripples of positive change that reached far beyond his immediate circle. He shared his philosophies with the people he knew, who passed those lessons onto others, who passed them onto others, and so on. As he said in his last will and testament, “[i]t’s all about the ripples.”
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Mary; his four children and their families, Madeleine (Will) Crowley, Sophia Salaber, Nicholas (Megan) Salaber, Anthony (Tess) Salaber; grandchildren, Lilah and Andrew; brother Ralph Salaber; sister, Felicia Gwynn; and parents, Phyllis and Lou Salaber.
No service arrangements have been scheduled at this time. The family would like to hold a celebration of Rob’s life sometime in Spring 2023 in Northern California. Once determined, information will be posted through SAI’s website (https://www.saiservices.com/).
By Marco Palilla, Director
