Janice Marie Robinson

Janice Marie (Schroeder) Robinson (age 92) passed away at home Thursday May 26th, quietly and gently, the same way that she lived her life. She was “surrounded by pretty” (a granddaughter’s expression) - flowers, family and classical music. Born in 1923 in Ft. Madison Iowa, to Gertrude and J. Robert Schroeder, she was the second of five children. She attended Marycrest College but left early to help work for the war effort at the telephone company; she later applied to American Airlines to become a stewardess but was turned away for being too tall. Janice met her husband Major Rudolph Robinson while visiting her married sister Phyllis in Rochester N.Y. in the summer of 1946. He was visiting his cousin, Wilton J. Lutwack, who happened to be married to that sister! Married that Fall, they settled in Boston Mass where he was an assistant corporate council for the City of Boston and later practiced private corporate law. She was happily married for 35 years until widowed in 1981, and had a son and two daughters.

Then began what Janice referred to as the second chapter of her life, one to which she would adapt well. She traveled between daughters and welcomed a total of 8 granddaughters into her life, eventually moving in with her daughter Pam, husband Jack and their three daughters. Their jobs took them to Michigan, Oklahoma and then to Arizona where they settled in for the past 16 years. Those granddaughters were fortunate to grow up with a live-in grandmother who always had time to listen and lead with grace and style. Janice had many friends from both generations and was a grandmother to many of their friends.

This also meant that she became a long-distance grandmother to the five East Coast granddaughters (daughters of Val and Patrick Druken of Newport, RI) but they all managed to stay connected. Janice loved to travel and stayed in Newport for her annual summer visits. She was a regular around town and got to know many of the girls’ friends. One in particular referred to her as the “Proper Grandmother!” Proper she was, enjoying the symphony, PBS and British Airways; however, she also enjoyed casual picnics and evenings at the beach.

Just as she once learned how to use the telephone, Janice learned how to email on her trusty Sprint MailStation. And yes, at age 90, she was the owner and operator of an iPad. She kept in touch with weekly phone calls and frequent emails, but still enjoyed writing long letters in her Palmer method handwriting. You were never too old to look forward to receiving her little birthday card with perfect penmanship and a crisp five dollar bill tucked in. Practical as she was, her only birthday request would be for stamps and stationery.

Janice referred to almost everyone as “ever so nice.” She loved her desserts and was known to say “thanks for waiting to talk on the phone until I finished my second helping.” A favorite treat was a Frappuccino at Starbucks with her granddaughters in Arizona.

She leaves her daughter Pamela, husband Jack and granddaughters Hilary (husband Eric), Gretchen (husband Logan) and Brenda of Mesa, AZ, and daughter Valerie, husband Patrick and granddaughters Kelsey (husband Kial) of Australia, Bridget (California), Catherine (California), Abbey and Glenna of Newport. She leaves her son Rudy Robinson Jr. of Fall River, Mass.

Janice is also survived by her three sisters Phyllis Lutwack, Carol Foss and Patricia Kious of Ft. Madison, Iowa and many nieces and nephews. Her brother J. Robert Schroeder, Jr. predeceased her. A celebration of her life will be held in Ft. Madison Iowa. She will be interred in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Natick, Mass; burial will be private.