Authors Donald and Cheryl Lynne Rubbo
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Donald Rubbo is an artist, cook, storyteller, and creative visionary whose work weaves together memory, myth, and modern technology. With his wife and co-creator Cheryl Lynne Rubbo, he brings My Father’s Miraculous Rock Soup to life as both a tribute to family and an offering to the world. Donald fuses raw creativity with an unwavering spirituality, anchored by his unshakable Christian faith and a heart brimming with compassion, generosity and wisdom.
Born in New York City, and raised first in the Bronx, and then in the vibrant chaos of a SoHo artist loft by his father, Pop Art legend Don Rubbo Sr. His parents separated when Donald was 11, and his father was given custody of the children. When Donald was 13, he became the head of the household after his father suffered a massive heart attack. At 16, Donald was given legal guardianship of his brothers. Co-founder of Rubbo Salt Shop, Donald is a trailblazer in the wellness world, igniting transformation through martial and healing arts. He began his teaching career in 1980, and empowered thousands worldwide with his profound teachings in the Chinese martial and healing arts, unlocking the secrets of mind-body harmony and self-discovery. Donald was more than a martial arts teacher — he was a living compass, guiding many young men not only in the discipline of martial arts, but in the art of character and righteousness building. With the quiet strength of a father and the wisdom of a seasoned warrior, he gave unwaveringly of himself, rooted in integrity, resilience, and grace. In his classes and beyond, he taught that true power lies in self-mastery and compassion. For many, he filled a void—modeling what it means to stand firm, listen deeply, and lead with strength, confidence, purpose and heart. The Rubbos created the nation’s first Wellness class in a hospital, Marin General, in 1996, which ran for 14 years. They also ran Five Tigers Martial Arts Summer Day Camp in the parks in Marin, for 4 years, for youths ages 8 to 14, mixing Shao Lin Chuan exercises, hiking in the forests and handmade crafts. They traveled the world teaching, and helped their Swiss students establish thriving schools in Switzerland. The Rubbos created ‘The World Takes a Breath Day,’ featuring their ‘The Extraordinary Breath’, to bring awareness of the profound, lasting healing benefits of deep diaphragmatic breathing. In the summer and fall of 2001, Donald was traveling back and forth to New York City to take care of his mother, Maria, who had been diagnosed with uterine cancer. He was booked on the fateful Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, to fly home to the Bay Area, but since his mother was doing well, and by the grace of God, his wife changed his return to Flight 93 a few days earier, on the 8th of September. Rising above the shock of the horrific attack, on September 12, 2001, Donald led his community, in a local park, in a powerful healing prayer for the nation. Unable to travel back to New York for a long time, Donald was grateful that his mother’s cancer treatment was successful, and today, she is a thriving, feisty 93 year old. In March of 2013, on a cross-country driving trip from New York City to San Francisco, Donald and Cheryl Lynne stopped in Somerset, Pennsylvania for the night. They did not know this was where Flight 93 crashed, until the hotel manager told them. They went to the crash site the next morning and met Max, a retired pilot for Continental Airlines. Max’s plane had been in the queue at Newark Airport the morning of September 11, 2001, waiting to take off, right behind United Flight 93. This was his first visit to the Flight 93 Memorial site, and he told Donald, “It could easily have been my flight they had chosen.” Later in 2013, when a mysterious, undiagnosable illness struck, defying every healing modality he'd mastered and baffling his doctors, Rubbo turned to God. Through divine grace, he embarked on a breathtaking journey of recovery though God's grace, as chronicled in his riveting 2018 testimonial book, ‘Exposing Deeds of Darkness’. Alongside his wife, Cheryl Lynne, Rubbo co-authored captivating works like ‘Extraordinary Breath’, ‘The Art and Mastery of Bio-Energetic Healing’, ‘Primordial Qigong’, and the delightfully quirky ‘"Old-fashioned!" Naughty! Everything! - A Glimpse of Emily Dickinson’. Honored as a hero by the 2006 Volvo for Life Awards and decorated with two Presidential Commendations for his public service, Rubbo's compassionate volunteerism and love for humanity spark vibrant, connected communities that pulse with hope and vitality. |
The Rubbos are current
Board Members and Volunteers for Respecting Our Elders
5 Tigers Martial Arts Summer Day Camp 1996
Wellness Class, Marin General Hospital, 1997
Andrew, Daniel, Julian, Brett
Donald and pilot Max at the Flight 93 Memorial, 2013
Donald & Cheryl Lynne teaching at the Commonwealth Club
Paul Desmond and Donald at Bing Gong's class, GGP, 1979
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