Sue Lane Robinson

My mother, Sue Lane Robinson, died peacefully in her sleep on February 24th. Mama was the second daughter of Charles Jack Lane and Ruby Juanita Lane (nee Irby). She is survived by her dear older sister, JoAnn Givens, of Pink, Oklahoma, as well as her son, Robert Lane Robinson, daughter Nancy Warren (nee Robinson), granddaughters Becky, Alex (Manny), Jackie, Katie (Joshua), and April (Dan), grandnephew Bill (Susan) and their children. She will be missed by all of us.

Throughout her life, Mama collected friends. There was nothing she liked better than meeting new people, seeing old friends, and having a chat. She loved people, and it showed. She was interested in people of all ages and backgrounds, and wanted to learn about them. Because she really cared about everyone she met, she remembered them and kept track of their lives and interests. Everywhere she went, she saw the sights, but most of all, she enjoyed the people.

This love extended to her family, of course. Although she met Daddy, Francis Howard Robinson III, in kindergarten, and they went all through school together, starting at Lydia Jackson Elementary in Whittier and through Whittier High School, apparently they never thought of each other as romantic partners during those years. After college (and in Daddy’s case, the Navy), people in Whittier started telling them that they should meet to talk about Europe, since Mama had saved her money from her teaching job to travel there, and Daddy had just returned from Chapman College’s Study Abroad program. They met to talk about it in September, began dating immediately, got engaged over Thanksgiving break, and were married the following March. They enjoyed over thirty years of happily married life together until Daddy succumbed to cancer at the age of sixty.

When they had been married only a few weeks, Daddy told Mama they needed to have a serious talk. His parents were dead, and her mother had died years earlier. Daddy said, “Sue, we won’t ever know how much time we have. We don’t come from families that live very long. Let’s make the most of every opportunity. We don’t have the luxury of putting things off for another year, or when there is more money, or when something is more convenient. So if we have the chance to take a trip, let’s take it. If we can do something fun or interesting, let’s do it.”

Mama agreed right away, and from then on, that’s how they lived. They travelled to Europe, this time together. They went to Hawaii and Alaska. One time Daddy was between jobs for six weeks, and they packed the two of us kids in the back seat of the car and drove us all around the United States and half of Canada. My brother and I still remember it fondly as one of the best trips of our lives.

Mama never put off joy. She delighted in life, and cherished the people that she encountered every day, whether they were from the kindergarten class at Lydia Jackson (where she organized the 50th reunion of that class, since she still knew where everyone was and kept in touch), or the caretakers who cared for her in the last days of her life.

If everyone were as joyous and optimistic as Mama, the world would be in fine shape. If you’d like to remember her in the best way, give to the charity of your choice, encourage a child, or just smile at someone you don’t know yet. They may turn out to be a wonderful friend.