Edward James Robben

With love and peaceful hearts, we share that Edward 'Eddie' James Robben passed away on May 21, 2025, at the age of 65 due to behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia. He remained active, faithful, and full of love for everyone he encountered until his passing, a true reflection of his gentle spirit.

Born on February 4, 1960 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He cherished his childhood and spoke often of fond memories with his five sisters and summers playing baseball. His family was actively involved at Christ the King Catholic Church, where he attended church and school. He later went on to attend South Side High School where he played baseball and football.

After high school, Eddie went on to Oklahoma State University where he studied electrical engineering and spent his summers interning in Houston. After graduating, he worked in corporate IT and later was CIO for several retail companies before starting his own IT consulting practice. Eddie always said, "Take the job no one wants and do it better," and that's a motto he lived - do your best.

While at Oklahoma State University, Eddie met Joanna Parker Robben in the dormitory. After rescuing her from a late night car problem, they began dating. While Joanna tried to play hard to get, Eddie was his typical consistent self. They eventually got engaged and later married on December 31, 1983 in Chickasha, Oklahoma. They were best friends and shared 41 beautiful years together - from triathlons and back packing trips to seeing the world together and building successful careers. Their greatest achievement has always been their family.

Together, they had three daughters, Emily (36), Molly (31) and Sammy (29). They created a home filled with joy and warmth. He loved his family and worked tirelessly to give them the best of everything. His family was his first priority never missing a soccer tournament, dance recital or volleyball game. He would say he was happiest when all his girls were together. That proved true through many family dinners, weekends at the lake, memorable trips, or just watching It's a Wonderful Life together around the holidays.

He was an avid runner, running many half-marathons and marathons. He was strangely good at corn hole and never passed up an opportunity to order every dessert on the menu. He had a big heart for animals, especially for dogs. We took in many strays. He had an innately generous spirit, a passion for volunteering and believed in helping others - in small and large ways. He served on the board of St. Vinicent De Paul and Bishop Dunne High School. His Catholic faith was a central tenant of how he lived his life.

He was blessed to have an amazing group of friends that shared his love of corn hole, softball and fishing. They are lovingly referred to as "the boys" and demonstrated the true meaning of friendship by staying by his side through the end. They were the brothers he didn't have.

Eddie was diagnosed with the behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD) in January 2024. The journey was quick, and we are grateful that he never had a full understanding of what was happening. He was happy, we like to say every day was his best day. His journey came to a close at Arden Court Memory Care where he was loved and cared for by the hospice and care staff, to whom we are forever grateful. Eddie's brain and body have been donated to UT Southwestern as the family hopes for more research and awareness around this devastating disease.

We will never have enough words to adequately say thank you to the people who have and continue to hold our family and our dad through this journey. You have been a bright light in a dark time. This has been our longest goodbye and we feel so lucky and grateful to have you in our lives.

Eddie is lovingly remembered by his wife, Joanna, daughters, Emily Robben (Eric Friend), Molly Robben (Erick Martinez) and Sammy Robben, five sisters, and many sisters and brothers-in-laws, nieces and nephews. He was "Opa" to his two grandsons, Gavin and Jack Friend (Emily and Eric), who he adored and cherished deeply.

A celebration of Eddie's life will be held on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Ann's Catholic Parish in Coppell, Texas, with a reception to follow. All who knew him are warmly welcome to join in honoring a life so beautifully lived.

The family will also be at 3 Nations Brewing in Carrollton, Texas on Monday, May 26, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. to celebrate Eddie's life with two of his favorite things - corn hole and beer. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (theaftd.org).