Nathalie Lois Robertson

Columbia: Nathalie Lois Robertson, 80, of Columbia, died on Monday, May 23, 2011. A funeral service will be held 11 o’clock, Thursday, May 26, 2011, at First Presbyterian Church, with The Rev. L. Craig Wilkes officiating. A reception will follow in Jackson Hall. Interment will be at Fort Jackson National Cemetery at 2 o’clock. Memorials may be made to the World Missions Fund, First Presbyterian Church, 1324 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Please notate memorial gifts, “In memory of Lois Robertson.” Shives Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Mrs. Robertson, wife of Colonel Victor M. Robertson, Jr. (Infantry, U.S. Army, Ret.), was born on January 21, 1931 in Fort Snelling, MN. She was a daughter of the late Colonel James Robinson Urquhart and Nathalie Wilkinson Urquhart. A graduate of the Katharine Gibbs School in New York, Lois lived a full and incredibly rich life. She served our nation in Paris, France, working with the American Graves Registration Service, where she held authority to direct searches for downed pilots lost in battle throughout Europe. Later, she worked as the personal secretary of the president of E.V. Roberts Engineering in Los Angeles, and over the years, she traveled and lived with her family in Manila, Philippines; Paris, France; Ankara, Turkey; and the Hawaiian Islands.

Her greatest passion was her faith in Jesus Christ. Her family was her greatest adventure and love in this life, but she also deeply enjoyed golf and gardening. A graduate of the Clemson Master Gardening course of instruction, it was said of her gardens by author Arlene Marturano, “Her garden is glorious in every sense of the old French word: delightful, splendid and regal.” A three-time President of the Fort Jackson Women’s Golf Association, Mrs. Robertson was not only a skilled and very avid golfer, but she served as the Director of the Annual Nationwide Military Dependents Golf Tournament when it was hosted by Fort Jackson. However, one of her greatest golfing honors was when she became the Super-Senior Champion in 2007 of the South Carolina State Women’s Golf Association.

A long-time and very faithful member of First Presbyterian Church, Mrs. Robertson expressed her faith through her daily living and caring for others; and one of her great joys was her involvement with Women’s Circle Three, whose friendship and encouragement she greatly treasured. Her faith was lively and was always seen through her giving spirit, and by serving others.

Survivors include her husband, Colonel Victor M. Robertson, Jr.; son, Lieutenant Colonel Victor M. Robertson III (Infantry, U.S. Army, Ret.) and his wife Brenda Griffin Robertson; grandchildren, Victor Robertson IV, Daniel Robertson, and James Robertson; cousins, Rev. James N. Urquhart, Bonnie Rae Stone, and Glen Grant Urquhart; nieces, Mary Anne Harrison and Susan McHale; and nephews, James R. Urquhart III and Robert J. Urquhart.