MARILYN K. ROBINOWITZ
1931-2017
It is with great sadness that the family of Marilyn Robinowitz announces her passing on June 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas, after a battle with liver cancer. Marilyn was born on December 24,1931, to Rose and Joseph Kublanow in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her sister, Elaine Coiffi, precedes her in death.
She leaves her husband, Maurice (Rock) Robinowitz; son Robert (Bob) Robinowitz, daughter-in-law Maria Montes De Oca, and granddaughters Lilliana and Camila; daughter Robin Robinowitz, son-in-law Louis Dobkin, and grandson Jared Dobkin; her brother, Sam Kublanow, and his wife, Marcia Kublanow; cousin Rochelle Oster and her husband, Sheldon Oster; and best friend Dodie Gaber.
Marilyn grew up Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was a wonderful, adoring wife, sister, mother and grandmother. She attended the University of Pittsburgh for two years. She met her husband, Rock, on a blind date in Houston in 1950 when she was here visiting her aunt Dorothy Young. The two went to the theater and It was love at first sight. She was 19 years old and Rock, 23, was a recent graduate of Texas A&M. After a couple of dates, she went back to Pittsburgh. Two years later, Rock went to a jeweler friend to get a ring and drove to her hometown to propose. She said, “Yes!,” on the front porch swing of her parents’ home and they were happily married for 63 years.
Marilyn and Rock moved to a beautiful home in Memorial’s Piney Point Village in 1953. Two years later, their first child, Robin, was born, followed by Bob in 1957. She was a loving and doting wife and mother, a Brownie Scout Leader, outstanding cook and baker, floriculturist, business woman, author, nature educator, personal fashion coordinator and volunteer extraordinaire at Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Marilyn had a curious mind, and was always reading and learning about new things.
She was a beautiful woman inside and out with a smile that literally lit up a room. Her laughter was contagious and she always had a funny story to share. She loved teaching Robin and her friends how to cook and bake, and the end results were always nutritious and delicious.
In the late 1960s, she started growing bromeliads as a hobby and joined the Bromeliad Society/Houston. She and Rock traveled twice to the rainforests of Mexico on bromeliad expeditions and came home with boxes full of the tropical plants. Rock and his cousin built a greenhouse onto the back of their house for her and her beautiful bromeliads. In later years, she added orchids and terrariums to her collection. She learned how to germinate seeds from the bromeliads and grew hundreds of plants that she sold to local nurseries. That was the start of Enchanted Gardens, when she turned her passion into a business.
She worked for 15 years as a personal fashion coordinator at various high-end department stores. She dressed celebrities, had a client list, and was always elegant, whether going to special events or to workout.
As an active senior, she was a health and fitness enthusiast, spending countless hours at the Trotter Family YMCA with her gym buddies. When she turned 77, she began writing a book, Butterflies and Bananas, that centered on what was important to her core, blending nature and nutrition for great food and family fun. The book took her five years to complete and it was one of her greatest loves.
Funeral services will take place on Thursday, June 29, at 2:00pm, at Emanu El Memorial Park, 8341 Bissonnet, Houston, Texas. A Shiva Minyan will be held on Thursday, June 29, at 6:30pm at Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, 4501 Woodway Drive, Houston, Texas. Dress for the evening is casual.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her honor to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, 4501 Woodway Drive, Houston, TX 77024; https:// houstonarboretum.org.