John D. Robinson

Born in 1935 in Watertown, NY, John first taught himself French in order to correspond with his French-Canadian grandfather. This led to a lifelong love affair of foreign languages: He mastered French, Russian and German, and studied Arabic, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and Latin.

German came in handy when he met Kathe Blendel, a German immigrant, at a dance at New York University. They married in 1963, and celebrated 57 years of marriage this past September.

John was a devout Catholic. He served in the U.S. Army and earned a Master's degree in Mathematics from the Courant Institute of New York University. His pursuit of a PhD in Mathematics at NYU was cut short just before he was to write his thesis when he was transferred from New Jersey to Virginia by General Electric.

John worked as a systems analyst for GE in New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania. After his retirement in 1994, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of working as a translator, consulting for a German technical firm.

In addition to foreign languages, John enjoyed painting, gardening, travel, classical music, kayaking, bicycling, and his 10 grandchildren.

In his 11-year battle with ALS and Parkinsonism, John was blessed with generous and understanding friends and neighbors, who supported him and his wife. Their acts of kindness are far too numerous to list here, but the family would like to thank each and every person who visited John at home or at the VA center, who opened their homes to Kathe during her visits to Coatesville, who called, dropped off food, checked on their welfare, shoveled their driveway, and performed innumerable acts of love for this couple.

The family also thanks the doctors, nurses, staff, and volunteers at the units 138 A and E of the Community Living Center at Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The staff, volunteers and patients there worked hard to create a welcoming, loving atmosphere where John felt he was cherished.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Eleanore Robinson. He is survived by his wife, Kathe, his brother Earl, and sisters Sheila and Ruth, two sons: Gene, and Joseph (Patty), three daughters: Monica (Michael) Budde, Joan (John) Renner, Elyn (Tom) Tromey, and ten grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Dec. 31, at The Church of St. Monica, 653 First Ave., Berwyn, PA 19312. Friends may call at the church from 10 to 11 a.m. Burial with military honors will follow at St. Monica's Cemetery, Conestoga Road, Berwyn.

The ceremony will be livestreamed, and will be available for some time after the service at www.facebook.com/allevafuneral/

In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to any of the following charities:

Little Sisters of the Poor: https://littlesistersofthepoorpa.weshareonline.org/

Sisters of Life: https://sistersoflife.org/donate/

Marjorie Shimer Durable Medical Equipment Program at the ALS Association of Greater Philadelphia Chapter: alsphiladelphia.org/Shimer-Accessibility