Francis Leroy Robinson

Francis Robinson, 79, of Longmont, passed away Oct 14, 2015. Born to Tony and Alice Robinson in Monte Vista in 1935, he attended school in Salida and graduated in 1953 from Saguache High School. Francis is survived by his wife, Jerry, his two daughters, Jeanette Robinson and LaDonna Thoms, his two grandsons, Jason Brochu and Bradley Thoms, his granddaughter, Priscilla Brochu, and many cousins. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sister and his step-father.

Francis first met the love of his life, Jerry, on a blind date. Jerry knew immediately that she and Francis were meant to be together! They were married Aug 3, 1957, and just celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary; soon after they were married Francis served in the Army for two years which took their young family across the country to Virginia. After growing up in the mountains himself, Francis and his wife raised their daughters outside of Estes Park, where their daughter LaDonna and her husband, Steve, still reside. Before his time in the service, Francis worked on the Rio Grande Railroad as a machinist. After his time in the service he worked as a software test engineer for IBM, Storage Tech, Sun micro-systems, and he retired in 2013 from Oracle. He was known by his family as a hard and determined worker.

A warm personality, loved by everyone, Francis had many friends and seemed to possess something that attracted many people to him. One of his greatest sources of joy was spending time with his grandchildren; for years, Francis and Jerry would host their grandchildren for extended periods of time. Some of his grandchildren’s fondest memories are of those times spent at “Grandma & Grandpas.” Another passion of Francis’ was his involvement in the St. Joseph school for the Lakota Sioux Indians in South Dakota.

Francis loved a cup of hot tea and a good western to read. Other hobbies of Francis’ included bow and rifle-hunting, bowling, and remodeling. He and Jerry loved to watch football and Nascar together. Jerry has especially fond memories of the vacations they’ve taken together, as traveling was another great love of Francis’; they were fortunate enough to go on cruises to both Alaska and Hawaii.

Francis had a sincere relationship with God and when he spoke of God it was obvious his faith was genuine. His family is comforted by the hope of Francis now being with his savior.

The family will be hosting a celebration of Francis’ life Sunday Oct 25th from 2-4pm at Janie’s Cafe (431 Main St.) in Longmont.

Donations can be made to St. Joseph Indian School (PO Box 100 Chamberlain, SD 57325-0100) or the Longmont Humane Society in Francis’ honor.