Charles Mebane Robinson ’44

Charles Mebane Robinson ’44, of Iowa City, Iowa, passed away June 27. He was born Sept. 13, 1923, to Hallie Mebane and Charles McLendon Robinson in Gastonia, N.C. At age 17, he attended Davidson. In 1942 he received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated as a Class of 1946 midshipman. Following Navy-sponsored financial management training at Harvard Business School, Robinson served as financial officer on several U.S. naval ships, principally in Panama and the Pacific. An interest in science and service subsequently led Robinson to the Bowman Gray Medical School at Wake Forest University, where he earned a M.D. degree, and thereafter, to an internship at Yale Medical School. It was during this internship that Robinson met, courted, and, on March 28, 1953, married Connecticut nursing student, Juliette LaMar, in New Haven, Conn. Following the completion of his internship, the newlyweds moved to suburban Columbus, Ohio, where Robinson established a private general medical practice, and the couple started their family. The Robinson family relocated to suburban Chicago, Ill., when Robinson accepted a position as a regional medical director for the Travelers Insurance Company. He was active in the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmette, Ill., the Wilmette Sailing Club, and as a part-time professor of clinical medicine at Northwestern University’s medical school. A 1976 promotion saw Robinson and family relocate to northern Litchfield County, Conn., from where he commuted to Hartford until his retirement in 1988. He and Juliette later moved to Landrum, S.C., where he found satisfying retirement living and great joy in his family. In 2004 he and Juliette last relocated to Iowa City, Iowa, to be closer to family. Robinson reveled in visits with friends and family, engaging conversation, and always in the acquisition of new knowledge. He is survived by his wife, Juliette, 401 Kimball Rd., Iowa City, IA 52245-5828; daughter, Cameron R. Vanni (Jerry L.); sons, Charles L. Robinson (Sarah T.) and Alexander L. Robinson; grandchildren, Charles T. Robinson, Elizabeth C. Robinson, Blaine Robinson, Lexi Schumacher, and Jack Schumacher; and many wonderful friends.