William S. "Bill" Robinson
Marriages
Mai Nagatomo - June 15, 1957
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6B Death Notice - April 1, 2015
William (Bill) S. Robinson, 92, Grand Junction, died March 29, 2015, in Grand Junction. Services are pending.Mr. Robinson was a theater professor at Mesa State College.He is survived by a brother, Carl Layne Robinson of Pinellas Park, Florida.Memorial contributions to the Bill and Mai Robinson Scholar-ship Fund, Colorado Mesa University, 1100 North Ave., Grand Junc-tion 81501; or Grand Valley Catholic Outreach, 245 S. 1st St., Grand Junction 81501.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3 D Obituary - April 19, 2015
William "Bill" S. Robinson, DFA
January 14, 1923 - March 29, 2015
Dear Family and Friends, I, Bill (William S.) Robinson was born in Charleston, West Virginia, on January 14, 1923, a rainy Sunday afternoon. I was the sixth child of a family of eight born to Kenna C. and Edith Lou (Peters) Robinson in the same house as my siblings and my mother. The rainy Sunday afternoon created problems in my childhood days because I had a drunken uncle who referred to me as "Billy Rainy Sunday." After I started school at the age of five, no longer wanting to be called Billy Rainy Sunday, I took the name of William Swint Robinson, Swint being the name of the doctor who delivered me. People have also asked me about my interest in theatre. I was stimulated by stories my father told me about working at the old opera house in Charleston; that, and finding my grandfather’s trunk which contained costumes in it from a medicine show he traveled the country with, even reaching Cripple Creek, Colorado. As a child I spent much of my time putting on plays with the kids in the neighborhood. The first professional theatre I ever saw was Captain Billy Bryant’s Show Boat seeing such melodramas as "Over the Hill to the Poor House" and "East Lynn." I attended schools in Charleston, West Virginia, graduating from high school in June 1940. Upon graduation I worked for two years and went into the U.S. Army in January 1943 and served 33 months in the Army as a Corporal in the European Theatre Operations. Having done training on radar in England for 11 months, I fell in love with the English Countryside and have remained an Anglophile ever since. Upon discharge from the Army returned to Charleston and enrolled in Morris Harvey College, completing a BA in two and one-half years. Following my graduation from college I moved to New York City where I tried my fame and fortune on Broadway with no success in either one. However, I was bright enough to get a MA degree from New York University. Unable to find a job in theatre, through the help of an Army buddy I found a job teaching high school drama in Minot, N.D. in 1951. I stayed there seven years and at that time I met the woman who became my wife, Mai Nagatomo, and we were married on June 15, 1957. Mai became the catalyst that ensured my success. She was an honored and respected English professor at Mesa College for thirty years. Upon our retirements my wife and I traveled extensively all over the world and enjoyed sharing our lives with friends, former students and family. My wife, Mai, passed away in February, 1996. While teaching in Minot I would return east during the summers and work at the Newport Casino Summer Theatre, in Newport, R.I. In 1958, Mai and I left North Dakota, moved to Denver and I enrolled in the University of Denver to begin work on a Ph.D. in Theatre. In 1960 there was an opening for a Speech and Drama teacher at Mesa Junior College and Horace Wubben offered me a job. We came to Grand Junction with the intention of staying for one year; instead, I have finished up my working days here, a total of 50 plus years. During my tenure at Mesa I worked diligently to build a viable and worthwhile theatre program for the college, students and the community. After the completion of the theatre in 1971 and with the encouragement of The Daily Sentinel, and my co-worker, Perry Carmichael, I established a summer theatre at the Mesa College, which was an integral part of the Theatre program for 30 years. As a result of my work I have been given many honors such as the Larry Tajari Award, a state award for excellence in drama. The Grand Junction Business and Professional Women gave Perry and me their Community Award for the creation of the Summer Theatre. I received the MSC Distinguished Faculty Award in 1986, and received the Museum of Western Colorado Living Resource Award (1993). Also in 1993 the Theatre where I had crafted my art for so many years, in the Walter Walker Fine Arts Building, was renamed the Robinson Theatre, becoming one of the most gratifying highlights of my teaching and performance career. However sweet, this honor was made even sweeter in 2003 when friends hired local GJ artist, Jim Hutton, to paint my portrait to hang in the same lobby. In 1996 I was surprised and delighted to receive the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Arts, and a final and ultimate highlight in my life’s academic experience came in June, 2009, when I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (DMA) from the University of Denver for my lifelong work in Theatre. This was the culmination of the graduate work I started there in 1956 and never completed. Growing up during the depression I learned the need for people to help each other and for that reason after retiring I have tried to help in any way I could by volunteering my time, services and money for organizations such as: Community Food Bank, Grand Valley Catholic Outreach, American Cancer Society, Grand Junction Visitor Center, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and, of course, my work with the Democratic Party. I have been a long time member of the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center. I am survived by one brother, Carl (LaNona) Robinson of Pinelles Park, FL; sisters-in-law, Ida Robinson of Charleston, West Virginia, and brother-in-law, George Hartman of St. Albans, West Virginia, and numerous nieces and nephews; and friends far too numerous to mention; and last but never least, my beloved cats, Pretty Boy and Honey Boy. I have requested that I be cremated and that my ashes be returned to West Virginia. If you would like you can make a gift to one of the following organizations, or heck, just go and have a drink in my name! Catholic Outreach 245 S. 1st St. Grand Junction, CO 81501; The Bill and Mai Robinson Scholarship Fund Colorado Mesa University/CMU Foundation (or to the newly established) Bill and Mai Robinson Endowed Lecture Fund Colorado Mesa University/CMU Foundation 1100 North Ave. Grand Junction, CO 81501. I have led a full and satisfying life sharing it with friends and relatives, and as Blanche says in A Streetcar Named Desire: "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." I leave this world saying to all as Emily says in Our Town: "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? ----every, every minute?" And from the musical, Finian’s Rainbow: "Look to the rainbow, and follow the fellow who follows a dream." Love, Bill
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There will be a Celebration of Dr. Robinson’s long and fruitful life at The Robinson Theatre/Colorado Mesa University, on May 23, 2015 beginning at 1:00 p.m. His family and close friends invite you to join us for this fond remembrance and celebration of his wonderful life.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 4D Death Notice - May 17, 2015
William “Bill” S. Robinson, 92, Grand Junction, died March 29, 2015, in Grand Junction. Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at The Robinson Theatre at Colorado Mesa University. Mr. Robinson was a theater professor at the former Mesa State College. Survivors include one brother, Carl Layne Robinson of Pinelles Park, Florida. Memorial contributions can be made to the Bill and Mai Robinson Scholarship Fund, Colorado Mesa University, 1100 North Ave., Grand Junction 81501 or Grand Valley Catholic Outreach, 245 S. First St., Grand Junction, 81501
