Norma "Gussie" J. Augustus McRobert

Norma J. “Gussie” McRobert died at her home in Gresham on March 8, 2012 at the age of 79. Norma Augustus McRobert (better known as Gussie) was born in Blanca, Colorado and lived in Montana and southern Oregon. She was class Valedictorian graduating from Henley High School in 1951. Her marriage to Dr. Marshall Brown ended in divorce and she was married to Chet McRobert for thirty-eight years until his death in 2003. Survivors include her five sons, Marc, Skip, Bradley, and Timothy McRobert, Gregory Brown; and three granddaughters, Kristina Smith, Kindel Brown and Heather Robertson.

Gussie McRobert was a Registered Nurse with an Associate Degree in Professional Nursing. She earned her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Communications and worked as a radio and television producer/reporter for Oregon Public Broadcasting. Her reports were featured on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Week End West. She wrote and produced news reports and documentaries for KKSN-AM and KGW-AM radio stations covering city and county governments. As owner of Rx Communications, McRobert specialized in public service promotions for nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Her radio public service productions won local and national awards.

Gussie McRobert was mayor of Gresham from 1989 to 1999. She initiated the city’s first community-wide visioning program to guide transportation planning and growth management until the year 2020. While an advocate of growth and “smart development,” she also initiated the first voter approved open space rescue and trail development program in Oregon. She championed citizen involvement and greatly expanded the opportunities for people to be involved in city government. McRobert’s personal commitment was to always “say it like it is,” which sometimes provoked others, but was consistent with her vow to honor her values.

Mike McKeever worked with Gussie McRobert over a period of eight years and wrote as her term as mayor ended, “As the first Chair of the Metro Policy Advisory Committee, a committee of 24 cities and three counties authorized by the Metro Charter to advise the Metro Council on growth management and other issues, there is no one who has had a larger impact on the future of this region over the last several years than you. In an age when it seems that no one can get anything done, you always got things done. At a time when people don’t know who they can believe, you always told the truth –even when no one wanted to hear it (especially when no one wanted to hear it!). You always, always followed your conscience and values. You fought for what you believed in and woke up the next morning ready to work with people you had disagreed with the night before. You didn’t hesitate to take a position, but also weren’t too proud to reverse field when the facts called for it. What mattered to you was getting it right. Oregon is famous for producing political giants and you have a well-deserved place on that rare list. ‘One of a kind’ is one of the highest compliments I can pay someone, and that is one of the first phrases that comes to mind when I think of your accomplishments.”

A memorial service will be on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. at Gresham City Hall located at 1333 NW Eastman Parkway, Gresham, OR. Interment will be at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.

Remembrances may be sent to the Oregon Humane Society, 1067 NE Columbia Blvd., Portland, OR 97211-0364; Oregon Food Bank, 1740 SE 39th Avenue, Portland, OR. 97238; Urban Green Spaces Institute, PO Box 6903, Portland, OR 97228.