Harry “Wig” Thomas Robinson, Jr.
Harry Thomas Robinson, Jr., “Wig”, Lookout Mountain, died on Sunday, November 15, 2015 after 90 years of being large and in charge. Move over God – you’ve got company.
Wig was born March 14, 1925 in Chattanooga where he graduated from McCallie School, and later graduated from Vanderbilt University. A natural leader and stellar athlete, Wig was an All Mid-South conference running back at McCallie and, as a senior, won the city scoring title after a four touchdown effort in his final game of the season. After graduation, he entered the United States Navy and played football in the Navy’s V12 program at Vanderbilt, Great Lakes and Tulane University, before finishing at Vanderbilt. Nicknamed “The Chattanooga Choo-Choo” and “Hurricane Harry”, he finished his career as second team All-SEC. His success on the gridiron led him to his lifelong habit of sharing his knowledge and expertise on a host of topics with his four long-suffering sons, a mediocre bunch, and his two strong and beautiful daughters.
While at Vanderbilt, he met his wife, Nancy Curtis. They married in 1951, and began a courtship of almost 65 years. Over the years, Nancy also was the recipient of Wig’s valuable advice, but after years of practice, became very adept at appearing to heed said advice while keeping her own council. The example they set in their relationship is instrumental to the success of all six of their children’s marriages, and was an enduring testament to their love and commitment.
Wig was an accomplished businessman. With his brother Monk, he led and grew Top Flight, Inc. for over 40 years. During that time in order to “save travel expenses”, Wig learned to fly. He secured his pilot’s license, and earned a spot on the FAA most wanted list for flagrantly flaunting the accepted rules of the sky. But Wig was not all business - he also had other varied interests. He was a talented accordionist and his children were forced to endure numerous episodes of The Lawrence Welk Show as he perfected his craft. An avid tennis player in the Chattanooga area for 40+ years, he was a constant fixture at Manker Patten Tennis Center where he spearheaded the campaign (Wig’s Waterloo) to preserve the right for men to continue to play shirtless.
He spent years handcrafting beautiful furniture from his supply of 7,000 board feet of walnut lumber. Many of his pieces reside in his and Nancy’s house, as well as in the houses of his children, and are treasured heirlooms.
In spite of all of his outside interests, his heart lay with his family and his dogs (possibly a toss-up). He loved all animals, but his dogs held a special place. He would go to extraordinary lengths to make them happy. As he eased out of his 80s, those efforts included “walking” his last dog, Mutt, by lashing his leash to his golf cart and driving around the golf course. Fortunately, none of his children were exercised this way.
His true focus was his family, and his success at his business career was primarily driven by his desire to provide for them and their times together. He was happiest during family trips to Litchfield Beach in South Carolina, where he was the perpetual winner of the annual beach sprint, and was the leader and instigator of all beach activities. As his children married, and families grew, family gatherings for weddings, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and various other significant events were wonderful opportunities for him and his family to share stories and entertain each other with irreverent but loving commentary – if you were in his circle, you had better be able to stand your ground.
Wig was a man that some might consider “mildly” opinionated, and on occasion something of a renegade. As such, he rarely failed to leave a lasting impression. To those who knew him well, beneath his gruff exterior Wig was a man of strong principles, loyal values and a heart of gold. He often jokingly quoted a cartoon comment that became a family bromide: “What’s good for Bullmoose is good for the world”. Bullmoose will be missed.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Harry Thomas Robinson and Elizabeth Montgomery Robinson; brother, E. Montgomery “Monk” Robinson; granddaughter, Mary Cameron Robinson.
Survivors include his wife, Nancy Curtis Robinson; son, Harry Thomas “Wejun” Robinson, III (Jan); son, Lowndes Curtis Robinson (Marty); daughter, Elizabeth Robinson Stout (Charlie); son, Daniel Taylor Robinson (Ferris); daughter, Sally Robinson Ferguson (Mac); son, Michael Adams Robinson (Kelly); grandchildren, Tommy Robinson (Kristen); Lowndes Robinson, Jordan Robinson Yarbrough (J), Katie Stout McGee, Charlie Stout (Lee), Alison Stout Mathews (Barton); Alex Nation, Robby Robinson (Julianna), Mikey Robinson; Mac Ferguson, Buck Ferguson, Ellie Ferguson, Adams Robinson, Nic Robinson; eight great-grandchildren with another on the way; and life-long friend of the family, Lucy Bell Graze.
A graveside service will be held at Forest Hills Cemetery, 4016 Tennessee Avenue, Chattanooga, Tn.on Friday at 1 p.m. with the Rev. Robert Childers officiating.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the MCR Foundation, 1400 McCallie Ave., Suite 210, Chattanooga, Tn. 37404; Hospice of Chattanooga, Inc., 4411 Oakwood Drive, Chattanooga, Tn. 37416; or The Humane Educational Society of Chattanooga Tennessee, 212 N. Highland Park Ave., Chattanooga, Tn. 37404.
Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory, Battlefield Parkway.