Joseph D. Robinson

ROBINSON, JOSEPH D. Joseph D. Robinson, 84, died of pleural cancer at his home in San Diego on November 14, 2008. Joe was born in Chester, PA, on August 27, 1924, the fourth of seven children of Gertrude Rogers Robinson and James Robinson. Two years later, the family moved to Acushnet, MA, where he spent his childhood. He attended Parting Ways Grammar School but left Normandin Junior High in the ninth grade to help support his family. He joined the U.S. Army in 1945 and was honorably discharged 18 months later. After moving to San Diego, where he worked in electronics at North Island Naval Station, he married Mary Ann Loss March 31, 1951. Once he had completed night school classes for his high school diploma, he enrolled at San Diego State University where he graduated in 1958 and earned his teaching credential. He taught at Lincoln High School for two years before he was transferred to Point Loma High School, where he taught U.S. Government and U.S. History for 27 years. During that time, he also earned a master's degree in education from Cal Western University. From the time he was a young boy wandering in the woods of Acushnet, Joe loved the outdoors. He became an avid bird expert and created a bird sanctuary outside the cabin on Palomar Mountain where he and his wife spent countless weekends. He was a member of the San Diego Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, and the Peregrine Fund. He and his wife were active in the Friends of Lake Murray where he constructed and installed nesting boxes for wood ducks, ospreys, and peregrine falcons. Joe also had a gifted sense of humor and was a consummate storyteller. He is survived by Mary Ann, his wife of 57 years; two brothers, Tom Robinson and Mike Robinson, both of San Diego; a sister, Rosemary Devenyns, also of San Diego; and a sister, Patricia Rose, of Cleveland, Ohio. He was a beloved uncle to 33 nieces and nephews. Memorial Services are planned at 11 a.m., Wednesday, December 17th, at St. Therese Catholic Church, 6016 Camino Rico in the Allied Gardens/Del Cerro neighborhood. A Reception will follow at the home of his niece at 8751 Robles Way in San Carlos. In lieu of flowers, his widow requests memorial donations to Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Dr., Ste 100, Arlington, VA 22203, or www.nature.org or the Interfaith Shelter Network, 3530 Camino del Rio No., Ste 301, San Diego, CA 92108 or www.interfaithshelter.org.