Kenneth Craig Robbins

Kenneth Craig “Casey” Robbins, age 88, was born on August 26, 1929 in Lenoir, North Carolina and died peacefully on January 15th, 2018. He was the son of Lawrence Hill Robbins and Gertrude Craig Robbins. His parents and siblings, Dallas Lester Robbins, Lawrence Norman Robbins, and Mildred Robbins Underdown, preceded him in death.

Casey graduated from Lenoir High School in 1947 where he began a lifelong passion for music as a member of the illustrious Lenoir High School Marching Band. He pursued his love for music at Lenoir Rhyne College where he formed the Casey Robbins Band and performed as lead saxophonist. After graduating in 1950, he formed Casey Robbins and the Diplomats, who served as lead entertainers at the Lenoir, Hickory and High Point furniture markets for many years. Casey also performed with the First Baptist Church of Lenoir choir. His musical talents were often on display at the old Mayview Manor in Blowing Rock, the Green Park Hotel and Lake Hickory Country Club. A jazz purist who valued hard work, he believed discipline, not genius, created the best musicians.

Casey served in the US Air Force as an aviation cadet in the Korean War where he adopted the strong work ethic that would shape a successful career. Following the completion of his service, in 1954 he co-established Lee and Robbins men’s clothing store. It was there he initiated a longstanding tradition of the Christmas tree around the Lenoir monument. His next professional venture took him to Hickory, NC where he worked with the Lowe’s Corporation in contractor sales, followed by a twenty-six-year career with Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company as a leading sales representative.

Casey is survived by his devoted wife of thirty-three years, Olivene Simpson Robbins. He is also survived by a sister-in-law, Jean Rakes Robbins of Floyd, Va, and his three children and their families: Kenneth L. “Bucky” Robbins and his wife Ellen Stanley Robbins (Hickory, NC) and their children, Holli Elizabeth Robbins, Mary Allison Bobiak and her husband Doug, Brian Tracy Lee and his wife Andrea, Stephen William Lee and Carolyn Anne Lee; Rebecca “Becky” Robbins Mitchener and her husband Victor Carton Mitchener (Charlotte, NC) and their children, John McDowell Moore and his wife Katy, Sarah Katherine, “Katie” Moore and her fiancé Art Howson, William Robbins Moore and his wife Maddie, Roland Mitchener Simmons and her husband Michael and Anne Stuart Mitchener; Nancy Simpson McGee (Durham, NC) and her children, Lindsay McGee Handrich and her husband Matthias, and Richard Scott McGee; as well as seven great-grandchildren and six nieces and nephews. He loved and adored his family and always professed they were his legacy.

His motto was: “I say what I think, no more, no less.” He spoke the truth, encouraged his children and grandchildren to always do their best, and treated everyone with the same level of equality and importance.

The family extends their greatest appreciation to all of the nurses and staff, especially Dr. Sally Nicks, Dr. Virginia Wright, and Dr. “Mel” at Catawba Regional Hospice.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to: The Casey Robbins Scholarship Fund at the James C. Harper School of Performing Arts, P.O. Box 390, Lenoir, NC 28645 or Catawba Regional Hospice, 3975 Robinson Road, Newton, NC 28658.

A graveside burial service will be held at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, 3120 Falling Creek Road, Hickory, NC 28601 on Friday, January 19, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. with Pastor Kyle Canerday officiating. The family will receive guests following the service at the cemetery.