Donnell Rubay, a Benicia author, historian, educator and one-time mayoral candidate, died Thursday night.

“Benicia has lost a fabulous historian,” fellow Benicia writer Kathryn Reiss said. “Her meticulously researched biographies and historical fiction for children and young adults entertained and educated a generation of readers. A light has gone out in Benicia.”

A resident of Benicia for 26 years, Rubay had a vast knowledge of the city’s history and served in many roles over the years. Among them were an author of books about internationally known figures related to Benicia’s history and as a longtime advocate for historic preservation, including a stint on Benicia Main Street’s Design Committee and as a founding member of the historic preservation group Friends of Old Town Benicia (FOOT).

Rubay received an associate business degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1979— where she graduated summa cum laude— and a law degree from UCLA’s School of Law in 1982. She was an associate and legal assistant supervisor for the San Francisco-based law firm Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold from 1989 to 1991. She then entered the world of education as an English teacher, first at Armijo High School and then at Benicia High School for a semester in the fall of 1993.

One of the ways Rubay had made her mark in Benicia was as a writer. During a visit to John Muir’s house in Martinez, she learned the story of how a dog named Stickeen kept the famed naturalist company while he was stranded on a glacier in Alaska. This inspired her to write the children’s book “Stickeen: John Muir and the Brave Little Dog,” told from Muir’s point of view. The book was published in 1998 and won the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Nature Book, was a Golden Kite Award nominee for Best Picture Book with Text and was a Scholastic Book Fair selection.

Rubay wrote several history-themed books, many of them dealing with famous figures from Benicia. Her 2011 children’s novel “Emma and the Oyster Pirate” told the story of a young girl who is transported back to 1891 when aspiring author Jack London spent his time as an oyster poacher in Benicia. In 2016, she authored the biography “With a Dream So Proud: The Life of Stephen Vincent Benet,” which told the story of the author of “The Devil and Daniel Webster,” “John Brown’s Body” and “Western Star” who resided in Benicia’s Commanding Officer’s Quarters in his youth.

Rubay’s other books included “Liberty’s Call: A Story of the American Revolution” and “Edith’s Elevator: A Time Travel Adventure at Edith Wharton’s House.”

Rubay’s interest in Benicia’s history extended to less well-known figures. Steve McKee, a Historic Preservation Review Commissioner and author of the Benicia Herald column “Architalk,” had mentioned Addison Mizner, an American resort architect who had put his own spin on the Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles, in a column. He was informed by Rubay that Mizner was born and raised in Benicia.

“During a tour of the Benicia City Cemetery that Donnell gave my wife and I a few years ago, we visited the Mizner family plot where we listened to a song on Donnell’s phone from the Stephen Sondheim musical about the Mizner brothers,” he said. “She was totally into knowing about these sorts of things.”

Another favorite figure of Rubay’s was Elsie Robinson, a syndicated Hearst columnist who grew up in Benicia and chronicled her experiences in her 1934 autobiography “I Wanted Out!”

“We formed our own sort of private Elsie Robinson fan club and vowed to share whatever info we learned about some of the lesser known facts of Elsie’s later life,” McKee said.

“She researched and made alive Benicia characters from the past that most people did not know existed,” Toni Haughey, also of the Historic Preservation Review Commission, said. “It was exciting to hear of her new discoveries.”

Rubay was also a passionate advocate for preserving Benicia’s history. As the leader of FOOT, she helped appeal to the city over alterations to such properties as the Union Hotel. In 2003, she ran for mayor against incumbent Steve Messina.

“This is not something I thought I would ever do in my life,” Rubay told the Herald in 2003, “but it has been pretty clear to me that there are laws that are not being followed and I can’t stand on the sidelines anymore.”

Rubay had listed as her top three concerns for the position, “honesty and openness in government, ensuring that we have a strong financial base and addressing the needs of the entire community.” Rubay lost her bid, but she continued to publicly speak out on issues in such meetings as the City Council and HPRC, which her husband Jon Van Landschoot currently serves on.
Rubay’s friend Leann Taagepera described her as someone who always told the truth, even when it made people uncomfortable.

“She did not say it in a way to make anyone feel uncomfortable, however,” she said. “Those people were uncomfortable because they had to be faced with the truth in public. She never did this for any personal gain. She upheld the highest principles, and in spite of criticisms, remained courageous.”

Moreover, Taagepera said she would write letters or emails of support for people’s projects and would help them craft letters to the city over issues they were facing.

“She could easily grasp an issue and then point the way forward,” Taagepera said.

In 2013, Rubay created the Capitol Neighbors Speaker Series in conjunction with the Benicia State Parks Association, which provides living history events including lectures, presentations, readings and historical reenactments in the historic Capitol building. Among the events in the series Rubay helped organize included a speaking event on early First Street business proprietors F.J. Stumm and Ansley K. Salz, a presentation on Jack London on the 100th anniversary of his death, an assembly of World War II veterans on the 70th anniversary of VE Day and a reading of “John Brown’s Body.” The most recent event was a tribute to Elsie Robinson, with the writer being portrayed by Benicia High graduate and Armijo drama teacher Sheena Beeson, last September.

In some of these events, Rubay would track down descendants of the people being portrayed and invite them to the programs.

“I will forever remember playing a former owner of my house, (Helen) Salz and having her actual ancestors in the room who told me surprisingly that I somehow got her accent and attitude down right,” Taagepera said. “How could I have done that? I did because Donnell guided me through this and made it seem that I could pull this off.”

“Donnell had a love and deep sense of respect for Benicia’s history,” BSPA spokesperson Mike Caplin said. “Through her research and detailed work, she brought much of that history to life for hundreds of fortunate people who attended the BSPA presentations.”

Peter Bray, who had acted in some Capitol Neighbors programs, called Rubay “a rare talent and will be deeply missed in the creative glow that we call Benicia.”

Taagepera said Rubay’s friends currently feel “a hole or space that she filled that is now empty.”

“I will attempt to fill this hole by remembering her and her interests and to think that I can move on, and with her as inspiration, I will attempt to do great things,” she said. “That’s what she would want us to do.”

Survivors of Rubay include her husband and their daughter, Anastasia Heuer.

A memorial will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 at the Commanding Officer’s Quarters, located at 1 Commandants Lane. A service will be held outside the building, and a tea party will be held inside.