James Edwin Robinson Jr.

James Edwin Robinson, Jr. was born on Wednesday, January 20, 1943 in a small Harlem Hospital delivery room minutes after his brother. His surprised parents, James and Irma, had only picked out one name for their child, Philip. So James’s young parents, married as teens, named their surprise second child after his father, now James E. Robinson, Sr.

The twins were first raised in the Bronx, on Washington Avenue, before their father moved them to 117th Street in Harlem, where they lived with their paternal grandmother, Bertha Sewell. Their maternal cousin Gloria provided a fun environment for the twins by doing things like taking them out to the country in her Ford Thunderbird Four-Seater. James and his brother lived in foster care with the King family while their father, who eventually finished law school and became a judge, continued his education. In 1956, the twins moved back with their father and stepmother Jane and lived in a Queens coop named after the Black World War II hero Dorie (Doris) Miller. Their sister Karen was born a few years later.

James and his brother started in public school but later went to Eron Preparatory School and graduated in 1960. The twins went their separate ways for college with James going to Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and Philip to a college in Missouri. James would earn his undergraduate degree in Marketing from Pace University in New York. He did graduate study in Advanced Engineering – Telecommunications Systems at The George Washington University.

James first worked as a switchman for the New York Telephone Company before joining IBM in 1967. James worked for IBM for 25 years, rising from a Senior Customer Engineer to a Systems Engineering Manager, moving with the company from New York to California to Oregon. Thereafter, James used his telecommunications and engineering skills at MCI Telecommunications, Teleport Communications Group, and Qwest Communications.

After moving to Oregon, James welcomed other family members to the state, including his cousins Gloria, Camilo and Rita, who met her husband Michael in Oregon. Most recently he welcomed to Oregon his nephew Philip Jr. and his wife Ana and their young daughter Vivienne. James loved Vivienne so much he valued every moment he had with her, which is evident in the photos of them together.

James was an avid reader of non-fiction political books. He had a strong belief in improving the Black community and was even approached about running for public office. He served as Chairman of the Housing Committee for the Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs. He had a great sense of style, which is evident by the way he decorated and adorned his home. He was an excellent cook. James enjoyed the company of women. He married three times, though never had any children. James had a strong sense of family and needless to say, his family will miss him very much.

James died on February 18, 2023. Among the family he leaves behind are his twin brother Philip and his wife Charmel, his sister Karen, nephews Brian, Brett, and Philip Jr., niece Khalia, great nieces and nephews Arianna, Francis, Miles, Ava, Carmen, and Vivienne James. He is also survived by cousins Roberta, Camilo, Rita, Roxanne, Stephen, Carol, Janine, Alvin, Yvette, Darryl, Cynthia, Yvonne, Will, Adanna, Nneka, Okechukwu, and Chike, Julian, Nora, and sister-in-law Dianna.