A MESSAGE FROM THE FAMILY
“She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies.”
- Lord Byron
On the cold and misty Friday morning of September 27, 2024, her God whispered to Jean Mahoney Robinson, one of the most beautiful, and sweetest, persons to ever walk on this planet, in her then-silent dream world, that it was okay now, that she could let go now, and Jean quietly slipped from this Earth,
and the Earth wept.
She was born in Kansas City, Missouri on October 31, 1937 to James William “Bill” Mahoney and Estelle Jordan Mahoney, and passed away near her waterfront home in Newport Beach, California, due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. Her passing was preceded by her parents and by her younger brother, James “Jimmy” Mahoney, and she is survived by her husband of 66 years, Edward “Ted” Robinson, daughter Laura Oatman and Laura’s husband Homer, her son Kurt Robinson and Kurt’s wife Dana, her grandchildren Erik, Annalise, Dane, Scott and Brett Oatman, Erik’s wife Deena, Brett’s wife Elena, Scott’s wife Tilly, Scott and Tilly’s twin boys, Ian and Oliver and daughter Fiona,
and Erik and Deena’s son Elliott.
When Jean was very young, her Grandfather James Mahoney, who was Senior Vice President of Santa Fe Railroad, allowed Jean to go cross country with him and her grandmother for many happy trips in their private railroad car. Then during WWII Jean moved with her family to various areas of the country while her father served with the Navy, after which they eventually moved to Beverly Hills, where Jean’s father joined Walt and Roy Disney’s corporation. In Beverly Hills Jean attended Marymount High School, where she was Prom Queen, and then UCLA. Her father became part of the team that created Disneyland, which put Jean and her brother Jim in the fun position of having silver passes to all the rides. At UCLA she chose Theater Arts as a major with a Psychology minor, joined Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and became the UCLA head song leader. She was also chosen as queen of everything there was to be queen of at UCLA,
including the UCLA Junior Prom Queen and Homecoming Queen.
In her sophomore year Jean met her husband-to-be, Ted Robinson, at an exchange between her sorority and Ted’s fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, after Ted had returned from serving two years with the Army’s reinstated Merrill’s Marauders in the Far East. They began their 66 wonderful years of marriage on July 12, 1958 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills, and they were blessed with the birth of their daughter Laura on Jean’s exact birthday, Halloween, October 31, in 1959. They were blessed once again with the birth of their son Kurt a little over four years later on
March 27, 1964.
She and Ted and the two children lived in Benedict Canyon, Beverly Hills, until 1976 when they all moved to Newport Beach so that Ted could locate the headquarters of his shopping center development firm in the old Larson’s Shipyard along Pacific Coast Highway. The Robinsons, and partner Brian Bertha, bought the Shipyard so that they could build their offices over the water there.
Jean loved her family dearly. When her grandchildren were young she greatly looked forward to the times she would go to Laura’s house and help after school, driving the grandkids to games or lessons, or supervising homework while Laura did the chauffeuring. In Newport Beach Jean and Ted belonged to Big Canyon Country Club and were Founders and major donors to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. In 1996 she joined Daughters of the American Revolution and was thrilled when her daughter Laura joined the same chapter. Her other favorite groups were the Balboa Bay Republican Women and the Orange County Museum of Art. She also became a travel consultant, putting together excursions that included a hot air balloon trip over the French Bordeaux wine country, and many cruises and European ski trips with close friends. She and Ted took all eleven of their growing family almost everywhere on the planet, and when Laura and Kurt were younger, the Robinsons took them on a circle route completely around the planet, including an African safari and visits to the Great Wall of China,
the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids of Giza.
At some time in the future, Jean and Ted will once again lie alongside one another, in Pacific View cemetery, where she will walk in beauty still.
OBITUARY
Jean Margaret Mahoney Robinson
31 October, 1937 – 27 September, 2024
IN THE CARE OF
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