Obituary of Richard J. Robinson Sr.

Obituary of Richard (Dick) J. Robinson, Sr. Richard “Dick” J. Robinson, Sr. a beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, neighbor, uncle, and mentor peacefully passed away on April 18, 2024, at the age of eighty-nine. Dick was born on June 15, 1934, to James D. and Rose M. (Gibson) Robinson, as the youngest of three boys. His siblings were Robert “Bobby” (Jean) Robinson and John “Jack” (Janet) Robinson. He was married to the love of his life, Maureen S. Robinson (Whalen) for sixty-seven years, where they met as teenagers, and went on to have five children - Richard “Rich” J. Robinson, Jr (Cheryl), Mary P. “Patty” Murray (John “Jack”), James “Jim” J. Robinson (Dana), Sheila M. Radwan (Thomas “Tom), and the late Laurie R. Radwan (James “Jim”). He was a loving uncle to many, especially Francis X. Whalen, Jr. (Nancy). Dick was also a very loving grandfather to fifteen grandchildren -Richard “Richie” J. Robinson, III, Robert “Rob” Robinson, Emmaline Robinson, Molly Murray, John “Jack” Murray (Alyssa), Patrick Murray, Eric Bracket, Kevin Robinson, Thomas “Tom” Radwan, William “Will” Radwan, Olivia Radwan, Natalie Radwan, Catherine “Catie” Radwan, Amanda Radwan, and Elisabeth Radwan. Dick lived by the motto - “Family, God, Country, and Community.” This motto began at an early age while living in South Buffalo in St. Theresa Roman Catholic (RC) Church Parish. There he forged strong bonds with friends while playing baseball, serving as a boy scout and altar server, all of which gave him lasting memories. In his twenties, he and eight of his St. Theresa’s friends decided to get together and play poker several times a year, calling themselves “the card club.” They did this well into their seventies. Dick went on to graduate from Bishop Timon High School and Canisius College, earning a BA in English, all while participating in the ROTC program. He enlisted in the United States Army immediately after college graduation, where he served three full years of service and another fourteen in the Army Reserves, earning the title of Major before retiring. Dick married Maureen one year after college and lived in Columbia, South Carolina, where he was stationed at the local Amy Base. After the Army, he then returned to West Seneca (at the border of South Buffalo), where he became an active member of St. Martin’s Parish for sixty-two years (acting as usher, member of the finance committee, men’s bowling league, and generous donor to their many financial campaigns). At the age of twenty-seven, Dick became a self-employed State Farm agent before retiring at the age of eighty-five, creating a lasting legacy of fifty-eight years of service. At State Farm, he won countless awards, such as Agent of the Year multiple times, and also qualified for innumerable Millionaire trips, both in the U.S. and abroad. He was a wonderful mentor to his devoted employees and thousands of customers. Dick’s love of Bishop Timon High School, South Buffalo, St. Martins Church, Country, and Community led to a devoted life of service beyond work, marriage, and immediate family. As a young man with five, young children, Dick ran for West Seneca Councilman twice and served for thirty-five years as a West Seneca Committeeman. Shortly afterward, he saw a need to help raise money for Mercy Hospital and joined the Mercy Hospital Men’s Sustaining Society where he served as a board member and President for many years. With Dick’s help, they were able to raise funds for many additions to the hospital. During this time, Dick felt compelled to join the Board of Trustees at Bishop Timon High School where he was Chairman for several years. Simultaneously, he joined the board of Directors at the South Buffalo Community Table. One of the accomplishments that Dick was so proud of was that he founded and was head of for many years the State Farm Agents Charity annual event benefiting Cradle Beach, which raised a total of over a million dollars through the years. Another accomplishment he revered was the thirty-eight years he served as Board Member and then President of the Board of Trustees for the Franciscan Center. He helped raise funds and formed lasting friendships with the two CEO’s, Father Pat Mendola and Father Joe Bayne. He also was a charter member of the MSGR Nash Council and the American Legion for sixty-five years. Among Dick’s other passions were gardening, decorating for the holidays (especially Halloween and Christmas), bowling (joining a St. Theresa’s weekly bowing league as a teenager with his dad and brothers and then carrying on the tradition well into his seventies at St. Martin’s), golfing, and vacationing both with his wife and extended family. Going on family vacations was very important to him. It was where he “recharged his battery” and spent quality time with family and sometimes friends. Besides vacationing extensively nationally and internationally, Dick particularly loved his camping vacations at Letchworth State Park (where he camped for a total of 4 plus weeks a year for fifty-four years), vacationing at Disney World for thirty years as a member of the Disney Vacation Club (where his wife Maureen is still a member), and his time spent with Maureen and extended family in Clearwater Beach Florida (several weeks per year). Friends and family may call on Monday, April 22 from 4-8:00pm at the James W. Cannan Funeral Home Inc., located at 3155 Orchard Park Road Orchard Park, NY. A funeral mass will be held on Tuesday April 23rd at 9:30am at St. Teresa’s RC Church located at 1974 Seneca Street, Buffalo, NY. Please assemble at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hope for Two… The Pregnant with Cancer Network, P.O. Box 253 Amherst, NY 14224 or www.hopefortwo.org. This 501 c 3 non-profit was very dear to Dick’s heart and was a generous contributor, as his daughter Mary (Patty) Murray founded the organization in 1997 a year after she was diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant with her 3rd child. Hope for Two offers information, hope, and support, to pregnant women diagnosed with cancer. She has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors for over twenty years. Dick will be deeply missed by all who knew him- especially his wife, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, other relatives, friends, and neighbors. He truly lived his motto of “Family, God, Country, and Community!” Dick - a job well done!