She took the reins as rider and developer

Faith Robbins, 73, of Wawa, an enterprising real estate developer who loved horses and the color red, died of breast cancer last Sunday at home.

When her father, John, died in 1978, Ms. Robbins took over John A. Robbins Co., a real estate management and development firm. Her father had developed retail properties in Center City in the 1930s and later built suburban shopping centers and commercial properties. The company's headquarters are in the 555 Building in the Bala Cynwyd office complex he built in the 1960s.

After inheriting the business, Ms. Robbins renovated her father's original properties and expanded into the development of business parks and office campuses throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania. She was involved with the firm until last year; her son Christopher A. Robbins now runs it.

Though her cancer was diagnosed in 1995, she led an active life until recently, said a friend, Carolyn Keefe. Ms. Robbins loved red: hats, nails, lips and cars, Keefe said. She drove a custom-painted red Mercedes with the license plate WITTY, the name of her favorite horse, an Arabian stallion who died 20 years ago.

Ms. Robbins rode horses daily at Felicity Farm, her home in Wawa, and at her summer retreat in Buck Hill Falls in the Poconos. She kept a menagerie of other animals at the farm, including peacocks, a 500-pound pig that often escaped its pen, and a llama, said another son, John A. Robbins II. She invited children over to pet the animals and ride the horses, he said. She supported the Thorncroft Therapeutic Horseback Riding program.

Ms. Robbins served on the board of Musicopia, a music-education program for children, and established artist-in-residence programs at Westtown Friends School and at schools in Chester.

She traveled extensively and especially enjoyed Myanmar, Italy and Antarctica, John said.

Ms. Robbins grew up in Merion and graduated from the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr. She earned a bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts with a major in art history and a minor in French.

In 1961, she married Brian Sablosky, with whom she had four sons. They divorced in 1979.

In addition to her sons John and Christopher, Ms. Robbins is survived by sons G. Sean Robbins Sablosky and Bradford A. Robbins Sablosky and five grandchildren. She was predeceased by her former husband.

Services were private.

Memorial donations may be made to Challenge of the Americas in care of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 60 E. 56th St., New York, N.Y. 10022.