[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 6, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E825-E826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF DONALD L. ROBINSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 6, 2008

  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I would like to use this 
opportunity today to pay tribute to a great American who just recently 
and unexpectedly passed away.
  Donald Robinson worked in the Office of Naval Intelligence and as a 
Chief of Staff and Staff Director on Capitol Hill in his younger years, 
but he is perhaps remembered best as a mentor to the hundreds of young 
people who came to Washington, DC to pursue an internship on Capitol 
Hill or with the Federal Government.
  For 25 years, Donald L. Robinson worked with his wife, Sara Robinson, 
as a Director of the Boston University Washington Internship Program.
  Madam Speaker, I pay tribute to the contribution he and his wife Sara 
made to enrich the lives of young people in who came to Washington to 
try out public service. He will be missed greatly. I would like to take 
the opportunity to submit his obituary in the Congressional Record 
today and to thank him for

[[Page E826]]

assisting in launching many successful, meaningful careers.

                             [May 2, 2008.]

 Donald L. ``Robbie'' Robinson, Ph.D., 71, Congressional Staffer; B.U. 
                      Political Science Professor

       Wellfleet.--Donald Louis ``Robbie'' Robinson, Ph.D., 71, a 
     retired congressional staffer and political science professor 
     at Boston University, died in his sleep at his home in 
     Wellfleet, on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.
       Robbie is survived by his wife of 45 years, Sara Moore 
     Robinson. He is also survived by his daughter, Moore, his 
     son, Marshall, his daughter-in-law, Jennifer, and his 
     granddaughter, Aila.
       Robbie was born in Ottawa, Ill., in 1936. In his youth, he 
     was a talented trumpet player and tap dancer, who won 
     numerous prizes. He received an academic scholarship to 
     Northwestern University, from which he earned a Bachelor of 
     Arts degree in 1958, and a Master of Arts degree in 1959. 
     While at Northwestern, he earned spending money playing 
     trumpet in a dance band, and was a member of the Alpha Tau 
     Omega fraternity.
       Robbie joined the Navy in the Officer Training Program, and 
     moved to Washington, D.C., where he served in the Office of 
     Naval Intelligence for 3\1/2\ years. During his tenure in the 
     Navy, he began a doctoral program in International Relations 
     at American University in Washington, D.C. He left the Navy 
     in 1962 and received his Ph.D. in 1963.
       It was at a friend's Sunday brunch, over bagels, where he 
     met his future wife, Sara Moore, a congressional staffer. The 
     two fell in love and were married in 1962. They had two 
     children, a son, Marshall, in 1969, and a daughter, Margaret 
     ``Moore,'' born in 1971.
       Dr. Robinson worked as a congressional staffer for 13 
     years, before retiring on disability in 1976 after being 
     diagnosed with Crohn's disease. He was then hired by Boston 
     University to develop a Washington, D.C., Internship Program, 
     which he ran for 25 years. In addition, he developed 
     internship programs for Case Western Reserve and the 
     University of Houston. He was appointed by President Bill 
     Clinton to be a member of the National Commission on 
     Libraries and Information Science. Dr. Robinson and his wife, 
     an attorney, retired together and moved from Washington, 
     D.C., to Wellfleet in 2001.
       Robbie was deeply involved with the Episcopal Church in 
     Washington, D.C., first at St. Stephen and the Incarnation, 
     and then at St. Columba's Church, where he was a lay 
     minister. After retirement, he was a lector, lay minister and 
     administrator of the healing rite at St. Mary of the Harbor, 
     Provincetown.
       At the time of his death, he was president of the Wellfleet 
     Historical Society, treasurer of the Cape Cod Opera, the only 
     nonsinging member of the board of the Outer Cape Chorale, a 
     Freemason and a Shriner. Last year, he and his wife joined 
     dear friends on a guided tour through the Baltic States and 
     Russia.
       Robbie loved his family very much, and was delighted to 
     meet his adored first grandchild, Aila, in January. Despite 
     his history of chronic illness, his death came suddenly and 
     unexpectedly, and is a great loss for all who knew him for 
     his indomitable good cheer, his delight of conversation and 
     his sheer enjoyment of life. He will be missed tremendously.
       A memorial celebration will be held on Saturday, May 17, 
     2008, at 3 p.m., at St. Mary of the Harbor in Provincetown.
       In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Wellfleet 
     Historical Society (Please note: Attention Robbie Robinson 
     Fund) at 266 Main St., Welifleet, MA 02667.

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