Mary Van Brunt Robinson

Mary Van Brunt Robinson, widow of Toledo attorney Ellis F. Robinson, died peacefully at Kingston of Perrysburg on Wednesday, January 28. She was 87. She will be lovingly and joyfully remembered by her three daughters and two sons-in-law, Nancy Robinson (Toledo), Susan Baldwin Rob (Nashville, TN), and Ellis M.M. Robinson Dick Mark (Concord, NH); as well as her two grandsons, Robbie Baldwin (Rachel) and Chris Baldwin; five step great-granddaughters; and many friends. Mary grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, where she met Ellis, and lived most of her adult life in the Toledo area, with a dozen wonderful retirement years in Durango, Colorado. Mary was an avid volunteer, known for her ready smile and her superb organizing skills. She served Maumee Valley and Durango (Colorado) Girl Scout Councils as a troop leader and dance instructor for more than 40 years. She was an active Kappa Alpha Theta alumna, a docent at Toledo Museum of Art and Durango Friends of the Arts, and a member of the Quest Garden Club. She organized scores of charity fundraisers, leaving each better organized and more successful than she found them. Mary and Ellis loved sailing at North Cape Yacht Club and around the Great Lakes. They also served Youth for Understanding as an interim home-stay for foreign exchange students. They welcomed nearly two dozen young people from around the world for a few weeks or several months each. Her loss will truly be felt worldwide. Mary’s family welcome friends to join them for a visitation on Friday, Jan. 30, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Walker Funeral Home, 5155 Sylvania Ave. (west of Corey Rd.). Her life will be celebrated with a memorial service at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, January 31, 2015 in the Buehner Center at Oak Openings MetroPark, 5230 Wilkins Rd., Whitehouse, OH 43571. In lieu of flowers, the family invites contributions in Mary’s name to Toledo MetroParks Volunteer Trail Patrol, 5100 W. Central Ave., Toledo, OH 43615 or Durango Friends of the Arts, P.O. Box 1281, Durango, CO 81302.