Roy E. Robbins

Roy Eugene Robbins, Ph.D., died April 7, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. He was in the middle of the Spring Semester, and his 35th year of teaching, at St. Mary's University where he joined the faculty in 1983 and was the Chair of the Department of Economics. Almost a year before, on April 10, 2017, Dr. Robbins received one of his most cherished honors when two of his former students, Gastón Sosa de la Torre and Marisol Arteaga Gonzalez gave $1 million to St. Mary's University School of Humanities and Social Sciences to endow the Roy Robbins Professorship in Economics. In advance of the formal announcement of the professorship, Arteaga Gonzalez and Sosa de la Torre echoed the sentiments of many of Dr. Robbins' former students in describing him as "a mentor who motivates me to believe in myself and to strive for what is right," who encouraged the love of economics, "a great instrument that can be used to help achieve a better society," and as a "tough, but fair, professor who always encouraged us to think beyond our surroundings and our comfort zones. He has been a true guide and an inspiration to us." Dr. Robbins was moved by the generosity of Gastón and Marisol and was looking forward to being a part of the University's ability to use the professorship to emphasize studies on the Texas-Mexico border and the economies of Mexico and Latin America. Dr. Robbins was born on April 22, 1939 in Harlingen, Texas, where he grew up. He wrote his first will in the 1960s before he travelled to integrate a church in Mississippi during the Civil Rights movement. He married Margaret Guzmán Robbins on November 24, 1973 after they met while they were both working for the Model Cities Program of the City of San Antonio. Dr. Robbins received a B.A. from Southwestern University, his M.Th. from Southern Methodist University, an M.A. from St. Mary's University, and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas. He was as steadfast in his commitment to social justice as he was in his refusal to retire. In addition to teaching and mentoring, Dr. Robbins enjoyed cheering on the Rattlers at as many St. Mary's sporting events as he could. He is survived by his wife Margaret, daughter Jennifer, and sisters Roma (Santee, California) and Nancy Mathews (Simpsonville, South Carolina) who will miss him terribly along with the hundreds of students and others at St. Mary's whose lives he touched and whom he loved like his own family. Visitation will be held on Sunday, April 15th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM with recitation of the rosary at 7:00 PM in the chapel at Porter Loring on McCullough. MASS OF THE RESURRECTION MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 10:30 AM ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY, TREDAWAY HALL GUADALUPE CHAPEL 1 CAMINO SANTA MARIA Interment will be private for the family. Memorial contributions may be made to the Roy Robbins, Ph.D., Endowed Scholarship Fund at St. Mary's University, the ACLU, or St. Mary's University.