Robbie Tellman

ROBBIE LEE TELLMAN 1926-2023 Irving - Robbie Lee Tellman, longtime resident of Irving, TX, passed away peacefully at home on March 15, 2023, after a long illness, just six days shy of her 97th birthday. Robbie lived a long life, one marked early on by an occurrence of great tragedy, but later defined by the strength and determination needed to overcome it. Robbie was born on March 21, 1926, outside Van Alstyne, Texas to Alfred Hill, a local farmer, and his wife Nellie. Robbie was the 10th of 12 children. Her large family (seven sisters and five brothers) were a constant source of love and support throughout her life. After graduation in 1943 from Van Alstyne High School, Robbie moved to nearby Sherman, Texas, working first at S.H. Kress and then at General Telephone Company. It was while working at the phone company that she met and later married William (Bill) Pemberton in 1951. Over the next few years, Robbie and Bill had two sons together, David and John Scott. As a geologist for an oil and gas company, Bill was often transferred from place to place; he and Robbie and the boys lived in many cities across the country. They were living in a suburb of Washington, D. C. in the spring of 1962 when on Easter Sunday afternoon, returning from an outing, they were involved in a horrific car crash that claimed the lives of Bill and their two sons. Robbie was the only survivor. Following a grueling physical recovery marked by multiple surgeries, Robbie moved back to Sherman, where as many as eight of the Hill brothers and sisters with their spouses and families lived at the time. It was here, surrounded and strengthened by her family, she began an even more arduous emotional recovery. Over the next few years, Robbie's many nieces and nephews became a surrogate family for her; she would often be the linchpin for outings and trips, both with her family and with friends. It was on one such trip to Las Vegas in 1968, while standing in line for a comedy show, that she found herself next to a loquacious fellow from Sioux City, Iowa, William (Bill) Tellman, an ebullient whirlwind of jokes, wisecracks, and long, involved funny stories. He was Robbie's second Bill, and she was charmed. Over the next few months, that charm became courtship, and courtship then became marriage on Valentine's Day, 1969. That marriage was to last until Bill's death in August 2012. During their forty-three years together, Robbie and Bill lived for a time in Sioux City, and then moved to Irving in the fall of 1975. They quickly became active members of MacArthur Baptist Church. They were avid card players (especially bridge), long-suffering fans of the Texas Rangers, frequent summer travelers to the Colorado mountains, and tireless lawn and garden enthusiasts, with frequent neighborhood Yard of the Month signs to prove it. Robbie also became a mother figure to Bill's daughter and son, Julie Christopherson and William (Billy) Tellman II, and a grandmother to Julie's children, Dana Christopherson II and Agena Christopherson, and a great-grandmother to Agena's daughter, Paisley, all of whom survive her. In the years after Bill's death in 2012 and the death of her last surviving sibling a few months later, Robbie often expressed a desire to be reunited with her long departed loved ones. So, she will be dearly missed by family and friends, but they take comfort in knowing that Robbie is now home, surrounded by her children and all those brothers and sisters, once again. Robbie is survived by sister-in-law and longtime friend, Joyce Hill of Sherman; nieces Linda Bankert of Fate, Tx, Donna Hill of Van Alstyne, and Karen Hill of Galveston; nephews Richard Hill of Commerce, Dale Hill of Dallas, Dennis Hill of Sherman, and Mark Armstrong of Pottsboro; numerous great-nieces and great-nephews, among them Rachael Hill and Roger Hill of Fort Worth, and steadfast friends Clif Clifton, Jaime Aparicio, and Susanne Hughes. Besides her parents, her two Bills, and her children, Robbie was pre-deceased by her sisters Ova Sue Hopper, Kathleen Arledge, Geneva Carter, Bonnie Hill, Eveline Klas, and Opal Dell Armstrong; brothers LC Hill, Dolten Hill, Theodore (Ted) Hill, Jack Hill, and Roland Hill; as well as nephews Guy Hill, Gary Hill, Stephen Klas, Phillip Klas, and Blair Armstrong. Robbie will be laid to rest at a graveside service on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at Cedarlawn Memorial Park in Sherman, Texas, with arrangements to be made by Colonial Funeral Home of Irving, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of Robbie's favorite charities, Habitat for Humanity, at habitat.org" target="_new" rel="nofollow">secure.habitat.org.