Richard L. Robison
1923-2016
ORANGE CITY, Fla. — Richard “Dick” Lauth Robison, 93, formerly of Warren, whose favorite saying was “Don’t worry about me, I’m just passing through”, peacefully left his earthly body on Thursday, Nov.17, 2016, when his big heart finally failed him.
Richard was born at home on Aug. 30,1923, in Delightful. He was the fifth son born to John Riley and Almedia Francis “Peg” Lauth Robison.
There were eight children all together, six boys and two girls. Richard graduated from Chalker High School in 1941, and was an accomplished baritone horn player. He was selected to go to the state championships but refused because he was too shy to play a solo in public. He also declined to play a French horn in the Army band because he couldn’t transpose music. That was the end of his instrument playing, but he continued to love to listen to classical music his entire life. As a child he learned to cook, sew and crochet rugs from his mother, whom he identified as his best friend growing up. His first job was as an iceman, but his mechanical ingenuity led him to a life of building and fixing just about anything. He claimed to have invented the “rat tail” comb but could never prove it. He began working at GE Ohio Lamp right out of high school at the age of 18. A year later he joined the Army to serve in WWII. He went to basic training at Camp Grant in St. Louis, Mo., where he studied hospital maintenance. He took that training to Fort Carson, Colo., where he became part of the 50th General Hospital Division. During the war, he built hospitals in Glasgow, Scotland and then followed Gen. George Patton to Omaha Beach. Fortunately, the war ended before he was shipped to Okinawa, Japan after almost four years of service. He returned to GE Ohio Lamp in Warren after the war, where he worked for the next 42 years as a mechanical engineer and foreman. In his spare time, he built homes as a solo contractor and with Kuszmaul Construction. There was nothing he could not fix or build and his children never remember a repairman being called to the house. But Dick wasn’t all work and no play. He loved riding and racing motorcycles and was a member of the Warren Buckaroos. Speed was his thing. He built race car interiors and followed NASCAR throughout his life. He also liked to drink beer and had a keg on tap in his garage workshops. Richard was a smooth ballroom dancer and belonged to a dance club where he cut the rug on a regular basis. He could also square dance and polka and taught his children to dance while standing on his feet. He loved gardening and had large gardens at his homes in Warren, Southington and Chillicothe, and Palm Coast, Fla. He enjoyed playing pinochle and was a member of a card club that met once a month.
On Nov. 27, 1947, Richard married Mary Louise Hartman, a blue-eyed beauty who worked for him at Ohio Lamp.
Dick and Mary had two daughters, Carle “Corky” and Jacquelyn “Jackie”.
After a long battle with cancer, Mary Louise passed away on Nov. 30, 1980, at the age of 54.
Dick then met Woneta Kelley, a widow from Chillicothe, and married her on Feb. 1983. He became stepfather to her four daughters. He hoped they would be together for the rest of their lives, but Woneta died on Jan. 26, 1996, from an inoperable brain tumor.
In addition to his wives, he was preceded in death by his parents; and siblings, Fred, Leo, Bernard “Blocky”, John “Jack”, Bernice, and Lila. Richard lived in Warren until he married Woneta and then moved to her home in Chillicothe. They eventually moved to Palm Coast, where he built his long awaited dream home.
For the past 11 years, he lived independently at John Knox Village in Orange City, where he volunteered time in the workshop, helped neighbors and watched sports. He really loved spending time with his large extended family, which includes his brother, Joseph (Angie); daughters, Carle Barrett Churgin (Andy) and Jacquelyn Burroughs (Hal); four stepdaughters, Teresa Kelley (Richard Riesser), Rebecca Webb (Mark Habib), Mary Kelley (Richard) and Patricia Nickelson.
He leaves behind nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
His daughters remember that he instilled in them the values of hard work, loyalty, honesty, a sense of duty, not sweating the small stuff and an abundance of love. They attribute his commitment to those values as the core of his longevity. He will be deeply missed.
Services will take place 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec.10, 2016, at Carl W. Hall Funeral Home, with military honors to follow. Richard will be buried alongside his first wife in Oakwood Cemetery, Warren. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or Halifax Health Hospice in Orange City.
(special notice)