David Wright Robinson

LAKESIDE — David Wright Robinson, 82, of Conrad Point, Lakeside, died Aug. 18, 2006, after a prolonged stay at Heritage Place in Kalispell. He was born Dec. 13, 1923, in Great Falls to Fred and Alice (Brooks) Robinson.

David grew up in Great Falls where he attended grade school and junior high. He then attended and graduated from Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minn. Every summer he returned to the family's Flathead Lake summer home in Lakeside, working one summer at the Somers mill and another at Lake Blaine mill. After attending one quarter at Montana State University (then College), David enlisted in the Army after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. He was chosen to attend Officer Training and was then commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry, but was assigned to a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier near the Philippines as an aerial observer.

During those harrowing times of WWII, Dave and his pilot tried to draw enemy fire while flying torpedo bomber missions a few hundred feet above ground over hostile jungles. "It was the first time this tactic had ever been tried," Robinson reflected 60 years later. After he rejoined his Army Unit for the ground campaign in Okinawa, he was seriously injured by enemy fire and spent a year in the hospital recovering from shrapnel wounds in his foot and leg. He received the Purple Heart.

Following his recovery after WWII, Robinson returned to MSU and earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 1950. Also in that year Dave met his wife Jean, in Libby. Jean was from Chicago and a Northwestern University graduate. They were married in 1951.

At the time, Dave had already begun his career as an engineer with the W. R. Grace affiliate Zonolite Company in Libby. The couple lived in the Libby community until 1969, spending summers at Crystal Lake, raising their family and "Summer Sons," orphaned nephews Reed, Ted and Ross Robinson. The family moved to Greenville, S.C., in late 1969 where they lived until 1972, but the love of Montana drew them back home. The Robinsons returned to Great Falls in 1972 to join the family business Lumber Yard Supply, (previously known as Grogan Robinson Lumber Company). Here Dave continued his career in management until his retirement in 1987, but continued on the firm's board of directors until 2004.

Dave and Jean made Flathead Lake their permanent residence since 1987. Dave was the consummate gentle man, ready with a big smile to greet one and all. He lived his life in an exemplary manner, always helping and encouraging others. As an active resident of the Flathead Valley, he was an enthusiastic skier, hiker, flyfisher, outdoorsman, star-gazer, inventor and proud "Captain" of the MaryTom, his 26-foot StanCraft wooden boat built in 1946. He was very active in community service, spending much of his time as a member of Rotary Club, SCORE, Flathead Lakers, Lakeside Men's Coffee Group, the Ski Bums and Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Dave was preceded in death by parents, Fred and Alice; step-mother Mary Addison Robinson; brothers J. Brooks and Alfred. Four of the couple's children predeceased their parents. Tommy died in infancy, Davy and Mark from congenital heart disease and Meg in a hiking accident.

Surviving David are his wife of 54 years, Jean Kearney Robinson; daughter Polly Addison (Dr. John) and their children Megan, Bennett and David of Mercer Island, Wash.; daughter Dr. Alice Robinson (Joe Cielak) and their children Sperry Robinson, Louis and Jonathan Cielak of Libby; daughter-in-law Sabrina Robinson (wife of Mark [d]) and their children Andrew, Kevin and Crystal of Spokane; step-sister Mary Christine Peterson (George[d]), step-brother Dr. Robert Addison (Ouida) and 15 nieces and nephews.

Funeral services were held at Lakeside Community Chapel on Aug. 23; burial was Thursday, Aug. 24, in Great Falls at Highland Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, FHCRCF, J5-200, P.O. Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98019; the Mark A. Robinson Memorial Scholarship Fund at MSU Foundation, 1501 South 11th Ave., Bozeman, MT, 59717, or the American Heart Association.