WOOSTER – Charles Arthur Robinson, 89, passed away on March 1,2013 at Union Hospital in Dover, Ohio, from pneumonia following complications of surgery for a broken leg.
He was born on January 2, 1924 in Bellaire, Ohio to Martha McDonald and Elmer Charles Robinson. Charles graduated from Bellaire High School in 1942 and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps shortly afterwards, serving the Allies in Africa as a corporal, servicing airplanes. He then attended Duke University in North Carolina for pre-med studies, and worked as a machinist in Kent, Ohio before joining the U.S. Postal Service and meeting his future wife, Fae, on a blind date, marrying her in 1952.
The family moved from Shadyside, Ohio to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1954, where
Charles worked as a postal clerk sorting mail on trains for 14 years, travelling weekly
between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati until the mail service began to abandon trains in favor of planes. Charles then relocated the family in 1962 to Wooster, Ohio, taking ajob as an accountant at Rubbermaid, where he worked for 25 years until retirement.
Always ready to lend a helping hand or strike up a conversation with anyone, Charles was often honored for his many contributions to local charities. Some of the numerous charities he gave his time to included the Wooster Community Hospital in the emergency room, medic alert, dietary, and payroll departments; the local chapter of the Red Cross; Secrest Arboretum; the Compeer Advisory Board for the Counseling Center; Wayne County Children’s Services, where he was named Volunteer of the Year in 1989; Meals on Wheels; and Habitat for Humanity, among many others. Wanting to remain active, he returned to the work force with Walmart in Wooster as a greeter in 2000, where he enjoyed welcoming crowds of local shoppers for the next five years.
Charles was a 50-year member of First Presbyterian Church in Wooster, where he served with enthusiasm and pleasure in many different roles such as deacon, elder, and Sunday school teacher as well as sitting on several committees. He also enjoyed very much singing in the church choir and other local musical groups. For many years, he performed as a baritone with the Wayneaires Barbershop chorus, traveling with them around Ohio and into Canada.
Charles enjoyed many outdoor activities and hobbies, including swimming and canoeing on the Ohio River as a young man in his own hand-built canoe; identifying tree species on nature walks or stars in the night sky; and researching genealogies of families and friends. Traveling was always a great source of pleasure for Charles. He visited several countries in Africa and Europe as well as Canada and the U .S, and also followed his children’s many international trips as an armchair traveller. Charles loved most of all spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, his large extended family and many friends. We greatly miss him and his indomitable, unique sense of humor, especially in his spirited struggle with old age; but at the same time we admire and celebrate his many personal accomplishments and the liveliness, warmth and joy he spread to all he met.
His wife, Fae A. Robinson, survives, along with his children, Carolyn Robinson and Jane Mesure of Wooster, Charles M. Robinson (Marina) of Merlo, Argentina, and Nancy (Floyd) Robinson-Berry of Austin, Texas; grandchildren Collin Robinson, Tania
Robinson and Paloma Robinson of Merlo, Argentina and Karla Robinson of Berea, Kentucky; Jay Plant of Washington, D.C. and Gary Plant of Jackson Hole, Wyoming;
and Wesley Berry of Wimberley, Texas; two great-grandchildren, Amadi Velasquez-
Robinson and Aynara Gonzales-Robinson of Merlo, Argentina; as well as twenty nieces and nephews and their families. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Dr. John Robinson, Jane Gillespie and Leila Kennedy, all formerly of Wooster.
Memorial services will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Wooster on Saturday, March 30, 2013 at lpm. Family will receive friends at a reception in Bruch Hall following the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Presbyterian
Church or a charity of your choice in Charles’ honor.
Memorial Contributions
First Presbyterian Church First Presbyterian Church or a charity of the donor’s choice
Service
Saturday, March 30, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Wooster
Visitation
Family will receive friends following the service
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