I will always remember Robin for being the upbeat, spirited woman that she was. She would always make jokes, even when things seemed really bad. Even when she learned that her thyroid cancer had come back 70 years after first being diagnosed, she laughed a bit, and said “well, soon I can stop taking these stupid pills everyday.” She was always trying to look at the bright side of things.
Robin was a loving wife for over 60 years, and a mother to two wonderful children, Lillian and Zach. They are all grown up now, with kids and grandkids of their own. She loved being with her family, and cherished every moment with them. She was the fun grandma who would take the kids to the movies, to the amusement parks, and would buy them special little present every time she saw them. She was still active into her 90s, and took daily walks in the park. She even did weight training!
Robin spent her professional life as a therapist, helping others with cancer. She first started working with kids at Children’s Hospital in Boston, and she was there for many years. She would cry with the kids, but also make jokes to make them laugh. She would even keep pictures in her office of when she was in the hospital and looked her worse. It made the kids smile that she didn’t even have her hair brushed. She would show them her scar to help them feel better, and she didn’t mind when kids poked at it.
As you all know, Robin was married to John in 2011, and they lived together in Boston. He worked at Mass General Hospital as a surgeon, so they were both busy with their respective hospitals. Robin got pregnant with Lillian when she was 30, and they moved to a suburb and bought their first house. Of course, the house was completely decorated by the time Lillian arrived, with every room painted a different color, and all of the furniture and accessories matched perfectly. Robin was definitely into planning, organizing, and making things match. She was always making to do lists. And she sure loved her Post-It notes!
After the kids were grown, Robin and John moved out to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she started her own practice. She worked with a variety of clients, but she stayed with her specialty of working with those who had recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. In Santa Fe, Robin had a friend who owned a flower shop, and Robin would occasionally work there on the weekends so she could get a chance to work with all the flowers. For those of you who went to Santa Fe to visit, you know that everything there is pretty much different shades of brown. For Robin, working in the Flower Market was the little chance she got to spend time with a little color. She loved putting arrangements together, and was constantly bringing home flowers. She would joke that since she always brought them home, John never had to. And he certainly liked that idea.
Robin was an avid reader, and loved the children’s classic series, Harry Potter, as Lillian knows all too well. I’m sorry Lillian, but for those who don’t know, Lillian’s middle name is Hermione, and Lillian was actually the name of Harry’s mother. She was VERY into the series, maybe even a bit too much. But she loved it, and didn’t care that her friends, and husband, made fun of her. When her children were old enough, she would read the books to them. Robin also enjoyed reading her girlie books. You know, the ones where young girls go out and date many cute boys, and own lots of shoes. She said they made her feel young again.
Robin sure could be a firecracker. She was always standing up for people’s rights, and if they wouldn’t stand up for themselves, she stood up like lightning to stand up for them. She had a big mouth on her in that way, but it was something we all loved. She also threatened to use her mouth to yell more often than she actually used it. She did, however, constantly use her mouth for smiling. She was always smiling, and was the only person I knew who could keep a smile plastered on her face for so long. I swear, she could have had a portrait done of her, and she wouldn’t have lost that smile. She would just sit there, with the same smile on her face, her cheeks not getting tired at all. It wasn’t a fake smile, because it was the same smile she had all the time. But she could just “turn it on.” It was a pretty amazing sight.
That was one of the things about her thyroid problems that really bothered her. She was so used to smiling all the time, it really struck her down when her thyroid would act up, and it seemed to wipe away her happiness. She once told me that instead of walking into a room, and having it light up, that she felt like walking into a room and turning the lights off. That was the worst I had ever seen her, when she just was plain unhappy, with no motivation to make herself better. Luckily, that didn’t last for very long, and Robin celebrated her happiness. It was the summer after her first cancer treatment when she met John. She described him to me as the one person who really understood her, and what she needed. When she needed to watch TV and be quiet, he would sit on the couch with her and rub her feet. And you all know how much she loved getting her feet rubbed. He was patient with her when she read Harry Potter for the 20th time, and took good care of her when she was getting her yearly thyroid body scans. When they got their first apartment, he gave her two kittens as a house warming present, and even promised to clean their litter box every day. That lasted a week. But oh, how she loved him. When he died two years ago, Robin was devastated. She knew however, that she would see him again. And right now, I know that they are both sitting on a couch, and he is rubbing her feet.
