Robert Robinson

Robert Robinson of Braintree, Massachusetts, died on August 17, 2026, at South Shore Hospital. He was 103.

Born in Boston on April 18, 1923, to Irving and Bessie Robinson, he graduated from Boston Latin School and left Boston University at 19 to enlist in the United States Army.

During World War II, he served in the Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1945 with the 307th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces, known as the “Long Rangers,” attaining the rank of Technical Sergeant. As ground crew, he was responsible for the maintenance of radar equipment essential to the success and survival of B-24 crews flying great distances over water to reach their targets and return.

After his military service, he returned to Boston University, earning his B.A. and then his LL.B. from Boston University School of Law, where he was a member of the Boston University Law Review.

He entered legal practice and was made a partner at Widett, Slater & Goldman and its predecessor firms, where he headed the bankruptcy practice. Considered a leader in the field, he handled major business bankruptcies throughout New England.

Throughout his life, he was a successful investor in stocks and index options and a passionate Red Sox fan. In retirement, he taught courses on constitutional and other legal issues at the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement for over ten years. He sang with The Boston Saengerfest Men's Chorus, including in its performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York, and participated in the Thayer Public Library Nonfiction Book Club well into his nineties.

He was predeceased by his parents; by his wife, Marcelle Paul Robinson, who died on February 14, 2018; by his brother, George Melvin Robinson; and by his nephew, Alan Robinson.

He is survived by his sons, David Robinson and his wife, Jennifer, and Steven Robinson; by his granddaughters, Sonya Shea Robinson and Ming Eleanore Robinson; and by his nieces, Debra West and Eileen Conn.

Graveside services will be private, with burial at Crawford Street Memorial Park, West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Greater Boston Food Bank at my.gbfb.org , an organization to which he was deeply committed.

The family is profoundly grateful to the Veterans Administration, whose home-based primary care team provided Robert with medical care and support that allowed him, until the very end of his life, to remain active and engaged with the activities and causes he loved.