Robin Sylvester

January 20, 1954 - November 1, 2023

Robin was the loving daughter of the late Alva William Wade and Dolores Wade; loving sister of Alva William Wade III and his wife Julie; and aunt and godmother to several nieces, nephews and God-children.

She graduated from Balboa High School. Robin married her high school sweetheart and soulmate and was his faithful wife and best friend of 48 years.

She worked at Riordan High school cafeteria, moved on to UPS and then went into business with her longtime friend, Theresa Maguire. They owned Pet Exchange at 29th San Jose in San Francisco.

After 10 years, she went to work at the Fairmont Hotel in the sweet corner, where she made many friends and met several celebrities. Muhammad Ali once waited 10 minutes for her to get a camera to take a photograph with her; Brad Pitt serenaded her; and Tony Bennett gave her a drawing he did while having lunch, which she still has to this day. She always helped the tourists with the best restaurants, shops and sightseeing spots. She helped everybody and wanted all guests to have a San Francisco experience.

Robin loved her magical garden, where she spent several hours a day tending to her beautiful plants, trees, plaster statues and metal and wood sculptures: the rabbit carrying a basket, a large grasshopper in one tree, a cool chicken in the other tree and several beautiful figurines throughout the garden. Her work certainly paid off. People would pass by every day and comment on how beautiful the garden was.

Robin was also an avid fisherwoman. Together she and her husband, Joe, fished San Pablo Bay for Sturgeon. She landed fish bigger than her in Joe’s whaler. Together they fished for salmon in the Pacific Ocean. That was her favorite and boy she knocked them dead. Robin and Joe went to Mexico to fish in Cabo San Lucas. They towed the whaler all the way. She landed a 210 lb. Marlon, hooked it herself and fought it over 2 hours, the true sign of an accomplished fisherwoman.

Robin and Joe loved their bowling at Classic Bowl, her favorite fun night Tuesday to socialize and have a few cocktails with everybody. She also loved attending events at Bayview Boat Club, where she had many friends. Robin had an uncanny ability to make friends, she was like a magnet when it came to making friends. If you dropped her in a crowd of 100 people, she would come back with 50 friends.

As a lifelong Giants fan, she talked to everybody who sat near her. She liked the people as much as the game, even the opposing Dodger fans. If you were a friend, neighbor or relative, you were certainly a recipient of one of delius almond torts, lemon meringue pies or carrot cake; there was no end to her talent generosity. She will be forever missed by all who knew her.

In memory of Robin’s love of the breed, please send a donation to any doberman pinscher rescue.

A Celebration of Life will be held on January 20, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at The Elks Lodge, 920 Stonegate Drive, South San Francisco ,Calif., 94080. If attending, please RSVP to acorns530@gmail.com.