Slaying victim Robb honored at service

On the day her husband pleaded guilty to killing Ellen Gregory Robb, the victim's relatives announced that they were setting up a foundation to aid women in abusive relationships.

Standing in a light rain and a dense, haunting fog, in front of a gazebo built as a memorial to her on the grounds of an elementary school, Robb's two brothers told a small gathering last night that they were calling it the "Every Great Reason Foundation."

"Today is a very tragic day," said Gary Gregory, who several times had to hold back sobs as he read the announcement. "It's also a day that allows us to move forward."

"Our goal is to make this tragedy into a triumph," said his brother, Art Gregory of Haddonfield. The brothers said the name of the foundation came from their sister's initials: E.G.R.

Ellen Robb was bludgeoned to death in her Upper Merion Township home on Dec. 22 as she was wrapping Christmas presents. She and her daughter, Olivia, were to spend the holidays with Gary Gregory and his family in the Boston area and to celebrate her 50th birthday on Dec. 26.

Yesterday, Gary Gregory fought tears as he recalled the horror he felt when he arrived at the house that day to pick them up, only to find the house cordoned off by police tape. "It was a shock," he said.

Art Gregory said family members were glad that Rafael Robb had pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Montgomery County court. No one, he said, wanted to live through the ordeal of a trial.

That sentiment was echoed by Mary Beth Pedlow, of the Friends of Ellen, which organized the event.

"This was the answer to a prayer," said Pedlow, who had known Ellen Robb since 1981.

Rafael Robb, a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania, is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date. Penn has asked Robb for his resignation.

The Friends group includes parents of children who attend or attended Roberts Elementary School.

When Olivia, now an eighth-grader, attended Roberts, her mother was active as a volunteer, organizing the Brownies and taking charge of fund-raisers, said Friends member Sharon Sellman, a neighbor of the Robbs.

For her efforts, Ellen Robb was once named a Roberts' volunteer of the year.

After the slaying, the Friends group raised $6,000 to build the gazebo, which is situated in the foreground of a nature center. Schoolchildren use it for a variety of programs.

Pedlow recalled that a man who had put a roof on the Robbs' house volunteered to be a general contractor for the gazebo project and saw to it that it was executed thriftily.

Pedlow said she would never forget the man's reaction to the slaying. " 'My God,' " he said, " 'That woman was so nice, how could you do any harm to her?' "