Died May 30, 2003
College: Timothy Dwight
Widow: Mrs. Judy D. Robinson
PO Box 82615
San Diego, CA 92138-2615
619-881-0882
Judy.otm@gmail.com
Children: Cynthia Lynne, 1964; Deborah, 1967; William Childers, 1971; Cynthia Kay, 1973
Richard Robinson was a client of mine. The first day I met him; he walked into my office and asked me to call him “Dick”. I replied “I can’t, I like you too much!” We were married 5 years later. He was an exceptional man with exceptional accomplishments – enough perhaps to fill 3 lifetimes. I feel quite fortunate to have been his wife and certainly consider him to be the most influential person of my life.
To hear Richard talk of his beloved Yale, and Timothy Dwight campus, meant in a transcendent way “we” all attended Yale. He frequently recalled stories of campus life, dear friends, favorite classes and favorite professors. Those days were clearly some of his fondest. If he could have captured his college years in a small gel-like capsule, he would have devoured those moments daily as an elixir of life.
Upon graduation he entered the military where he found much satisfaction in being an officer of the United States Navy. He proudly served 3 tours in Vietnam as a member of Navy Seal Team One and to his honor was a highly decorated soldier.
He had an illustrious career working for several of the world’s largest organizations exercising his major in mechanical engineering and later corporate finance; blazing the way for industry and technology while crossing many cultural barriers to do so. The epitome of sartorial elegance, Richard was prepared to meet anyone anywhere at any time. This would sometimes present a problem as he never met a stranger; and going to the store for a half gallon of milk would take longer than interpreting the Mayan calendar!
Richard preferred the company of a good dog, a fine cigar, and a wee dram of single malt scotch (never letting us forget that he was 15/16 Scot). One could throw in a classic book and me for good measure. He was careful to never venture too far away from his fly rod, preaching “a bad day of fishing is better than the best day at work”. As a life member of the NRA at age 9, Richard was one of few Great White Hunters. He was the only man I ever met who shot 24 elk and had a “grand slam” to his credit. Richard was a marksman of Olympic proportions (1984 US team judge) and could spin a story larger than the great Rocky Mountains which he so truly loved.
As a maestro of the English language, Richard gifted us with a plethora of his whimsical quotes and comments, which have created countless smiles and as many lasting memories. He rests peacefully now in a small cemetery, under the oak trees on the Mesa Grande Indian reservation, in San Diego County. While our time on earth together was limited, I have no doubt we will soar in eternity; for Richard was truly a God fearing man, a gentleman, and a scholar.
—by Judy Robinson