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In memory of
Bertha (Biddie) and Bob Robinson
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Bertha (Biddie) and Bob's obituary
BIDDIE
November 27, 1923 - April 2, 2019
Biddie loved many things. She loved to laugh, she loved people, she loved (and spoiled) her pets and she loved her family very very much.
She lived a full life, side by side and fully equal to her husband of 70 years, Bob Robinson. He always amazed her and and adored her and it is hard to imagine how he could live without her. She is also survived by daughters, grandchildren, great grandchildren, extended family and friends.
Biddie was proud to have achieved the age of 95 and remained cheerful to the end. In her later years, Biddie lived with memory loss but never lost her delight in people. Whether you’d been away for a day or a decade, she would greet you with a smile and say, “Oh it’s so nice to see you! It’s been a long time.” and each time she said it (and she would say it over) she would genuinely want to know how things were going for you. She loved to have people in the house and she died as she would have wished, at home surrounded by loved ones.
She was the last surviving of eight siblings born in Bonesteel, SD to Angelique Marie and Eugene Swogger. She was raised in Norfolk Nebraska and dreamed of being a tap dancer but World War II interrupted that. Her older sister Jessie steered her towards a career that could serve the war effort. Biddie earned her RN at St Luke’s in Kansas City, Missouri where she also made lifelong friendships and began her career by serving wounded war veterans returning from battle. Soon after, she answered the call for nurses needed in post-WWII Washington DC. It was there, while working at Doctors Hospital, that she met Bob, introduced by Bob’s sister, Letty, also a nurse. Later in life, Biddie began to embrace her Native American heritage, of which she was very proud. She was a registered member of the Rosebud Souix tribe.
She had a long career as a nurse and retired from Arlington Hospital ‘s neo natal unit. She preferred working with newborn babies because it was a such a happy place to be.
We imagine she will now be happy, celebrating with many friends and family members who preceeded her in death, including her twin sister who died soon after birth, and all who have been waiting to welcome her, “Oh it’s so nice to see you! It’s been a long time.”
BOB
July 15, 1925 - April 7, 2019
Bob Robinson was larger than life, big hearted, strong, strong willed, steadfast, warm and witty.
He was a man of action who loved to work, loved to fix things, loved his family and friends and was generous to a fault. He often suprised us with outlandish gifts that tickled him, and sometimes puzzled us but always came from a sincere wish to make us happy. He loved to make and give things made of metal. He was proud of being a good provider … of opportunties, encouragement and words of wisdom.
Robert Cyril Robinson was born in 1925 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Jack and Euphemia Robinson. He was the youngest of three, brother Jack, sister Letty and little Robbie. The depression hit the Midwest hard and they moved to New York State to be with Euphemia’s family, then followed job opportunities to Washington DC. Times were still hard and extra money was hard to come by. So his mom made homemade sandwiches that Robbie and Jack sold to workmen at noontime for a nickle. Robbie was pleased with himself for having more business than his brother because he sold his sandwiches on credit, with interest payable on payday.
He said the best things he did in his life were
Joining the MARINES - Getting out of the Marines
Getting Married - Going into BUSINESS
He grew up in Arlington, Virginia where he worked for Conklyns Florist, delivering to Arlington Cemetary. He knew the sections so well he didn’t need a map to find the graves. He worked there full time from when he was 12 until he left High School to join the Marines at 17. He went to boot camp at Perris Island then shipped out to Hawaii. His brother was already stationed there. It must have been a pretty frightening place to be in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. But by the time he got his orders to ship out, the war was over. He served in the occupation forces in Japan, arriving in Sasebo after the peace treaty was signed.
He returned to Arlington to finish High School, then met my mother Biddie. She worked with his sister Letty, both of them nurses at Doctors Hospital in Washington DC. And he knew. “She was just what I ordered.”
They married and had a family. Three daughters, seven grandchildren, great grandchildren, nephews, neices and many many honorary sons and daughters, friends and neighbors who have brought him joy over all these years.
He founded Zephyr Sheet Metal Company in our basement in 1960. And moved the business to Front Royal in the 1980s. He was proud of his accomplishments.
“I DID WHATEEVER I SET OUT TO DO.”
But it wasn’t easy. After he finished the second, larger shop on Jackson Street, there was a downturn. He had to lay off workers, the hardest thing he ever did, and was putting in the windows of the shop but had to leave it open for a year before he could close it up. He learned that YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CERTAIN TOUGHNESS TO MAKE IT.
He kept this phrase posted by his work bench -
The Difficult We Do Right Away. The Impossible Takes Little While
And in many ways, as a self made man, he achieved the impossible. On his 90th birthday, he shared this wisdom:
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE IS TO BE KIND
Do NOT SELL PROPERTIES - KEEP A HOLD OF THEM
SET YOUR MIND TO ACHIEVE WHAT YOU WANT
PUT UP WITH THE GRIND
ENDURE HARDSHIP
NEVER GIVE UP
THE WORK - not the rewards - ARE WHAT IS IS SATISFYING
MOST PEOPLE ARE FRIENDLY - MOST ARE HONEST
THERE’S A FEW THAT WANT TO GET YOU
He was a man of honor, a man of his word. His leaving was too sudden and too soon and he did not want to go. He loved being alive. He loved us all so much.
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Created with love by
Julia Robinson Shimizu.
