Ray C. Robinson, Jr.

Ray C. Robinson, Jr., a longtime resident of Lafayette, CA., passed away March 30, 2015 at the age of 94 in Greenbrae, CA. Born in 1920 to Lillian and Ray C. Robinson, he attended Piedmont schools and graduated from the University of California in Forest Engineering in 1942. Ray was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. A Navy Lt. who commanded PT Boats in the South Pacific during WWII, Ray saw action at Vella Lavella, Treasury, Bougainville and Green Islands and also in the Morotai area of New Guinea. After the war, he spent 8 months in Shanghai on the Foreign Claims Commission.

Ray was Vice President of Harper, Robinson and Co. in San Francisco, Vice President and Director of Circle Airfreight International for many years and a coowner of Buchanan Airport Hangar Co. in Concord. He retired at 86 years of age. His hobbies were fly fishing, skiing, hiking and hunting. While working in Africa, he took seven safaris into the bush.

Ray lived in Lafayette, CA for 50 years, then spent 4 years at The Tamalpais in Greenbrae, CA. He was married to Joan Robinson, who survives him, for 64 years. There are four surviving children: Jeffrey ( Bobbie) of Centerport, NY, Reed ( Reinhild) of Incline Village, NV, Craig of Seattle, WA., Carol Knorpp ( Jon) of Larkspur, CA and a daughter in law Shan Kerouac ( Paul) of Issaquah, WA. There are eleven grandchildren: Selah Barney ( Jesse), Megan Klemme ( Scott), Ben, Mark ( Chelsea), Craig, Ashley, Georgia, Rachel and Isaac ( Jordan) Robinson, Jack and Griffin Knorpp and four great grandchildren: Elias, Saana, Athalia and Gabriel Barney. He was predeceased by a brother, John H., a grandson, Sammy, in 1993, and a son, Scott, in 1994. Ray was a Life Member of the Chancellor’s Associates of UCSF, a generous supporter of the building program recently completed by St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco and a member of Pentad Circle of the President’s Council for a Scholarship Fund he and Joan have set up at the University of Illinois, Joan’s alma mater.

As the respected head of the Robinson family, Ray will be missed by every member. A private service is being planned at a later date. Donations may be made in his memory to St. Anthony Foundation, 121 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102 or The Tomorrow Fund for Senior Services for Northern CA, 1525 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94109.