Dr. James T. Robinson PhD

Long time Colorado educator, bonsai expert and potter, James T. Robinson, 89, died Monday, Feb. 18, at Sunrise Assisted Living Center in Denver following an extended battle with Alzheimer's disease.

He leaves his wife of 67 years, Marjorie (Strobel) Robinson and his daughter, Sue Robinson; son-in-law David Steinke; granddaughter Erin Robinson Steinke, beloved nieces and nephews and many close friends.

Born in 1923 in Montebello, California, the son of James Walter Robinson and Luel B. Temple, he was a resident of Pico Rivera, then Whittier, California until 1966.

After graduating from Whittier High School in 1941, he attended Pasadena Junior College, University of California Berkeley and graduated from Whittier College.

He met his wife, Marjorie Strobel, in high school and they were married in 1945 in Whittier, California.

In 1943 he joined the U.S. Navy, where he was a naval aviator and instructor for two years and finished his military career as a reservist in 1952.

After serving with the Navy, Jim had the opportunity to continue his education and received a Master’s Degree in Biology from Whittier College in 1953 and his doctorate in Science Education from Stanford University in 1964.

For 10 years he taught biology at several Whittier high schools and served as science department chair for five years. He was also associated with Los Angeles County Schools and Industry Education Council for several years.

In 1966 he moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey to take a faculty position at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.

Jim then accepted a Project Director’s position with Biological Science Curriculum Studies in Boulder, Colorado in 1969. He specialized in creating science courses for disabled children, developing ways to use drawings for testing so that reading skill was not needed. Over the years he authored and contributed to 5 books on science education and wrote many papers published in science and education journals.

In 1985 he accepted the job of Executive Director of instruction for curriculum, evaluation and long range planning for the Boulder Valley School District where he helped pioneer the use of computers in the classroom. He retired in 1988, after 41 years as an educator.

Jim discovered the art of Japanese bonsai trees in 1960 and he became highly skilled over the years, being named one of America’s Outstanding Bonsai Artists by the National Bonsai Foundation in 1987. He was a longtime member of the Rocky Mountain Bonsai Society, and was twice President of the Society, and won the Bob Kataoka Memorial award as Bonsai Artist of the Year in 1989 and 1997. Jim cherished his bonsai friends and teachers over many happy years, while raising trees of many species; over 100 at one point. He became an avid potter in his retirement years, and spent many hours at the Boulder Pottery Lab creating pots and plant stands for his beloved bonsai trees.

Jim was always appreciative of all the teachers in his life. He was an artist, a teacher and a passionate lifelong learner.

After his death, his brain was donated to the Harvard Brain Bank in Massachusetts, to be used in research toward finding a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. Being the consummate teacher, his family thought he would heartily approve.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Alzheimer's Association or to Denver Hospice.