Robbie Nelson LeCompte

Robbie Nelson LeCompte died at age 84 on January 28,2026. Her beloved husband, Lee LeCompte, pre-deceased her in 2017. She is survived by her son, Jon Harden with wife, Julie, her daughter Ashlie Hancock, her daughter Mason LeCompte and two stepchildren Jane Yates, and Kirkwood LeCompte with wife Cathy. Robbie is survived by her dear brother, James Nelson and his wife Mary. She is also survived by some of her favorite people in the world, her grandchildren: Avery, Alex, Grace, Laura Ann, Nate, Adam, Zora, Hazel, Kimberly, Ben and three great grandchildren.

She was born in South Boston, Virginia and moved to Newport News, where she graduated from Warwick High School. Robbie was an honor scholar at Mary Baldwin College, graduating in the "greatest class of 1963". She taught at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind and the Virginia Beach public schools. She married a Navy pilot Dave Harden, and spent nine years traveling, living on the west coast for four years and had two children. Her second marriage was to E. Lee LeCompte in 1973. In Richmond, Robbie played on the tennis team at the Country Club of Virginia, rode her horses, water skied, joined the Chesterfield Women's Soccer league, was president of the community league and the garden club. She also taught in the Midlothian school system, taught After School Art Programs, and worked in Weather or Knot antique store.

After moving back to the beach, she worked at Ocean Art and 21st Street Art Galleries, and was a docent at both the Chrysler Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Robbie enjoyed playing bridge at the Princess Anne Country Club.

Although Robbie did a lot of traveling all over the world for most of her life, she found no greater joy in life than the time she spent in her yard, nurturing her plants, playing with her grandchildren and poodles. She spent many years as a wildlife rescue volunteer raising orphaned squirrels and feeding wildlife. She felt one of the purposes of her life was to feed and nurture as many human and animal critters as possible. Wherever she found herself, she looked for joy and loved to laugh her way through life.

A memorial service will be held at the Princess Anne Country Club from 2:00 to 4:00 PM on March 6th and an internment will be a private graveside service in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. If you wish to make a memorial donation, please give it to the Virginia Beach SPCA or Wildlife Response.