Nancy Robinson and Sally Ferguson
Nancy Robinson enjoying the afternoon sun during her last summer
Nancy Robinson's children. Dan and Mike in front and Sally, Beth, Curt and Wejun in back.
Beth Stout, Wejun Robinson and Nancy Robinson
Dan Robinson and Nancy Robinson
After Thanksgiving, I put out the little plastic poinsettia decoration my mother-in-law had given me almost a decade ago. She got it at the Dollar Store and it sits on my windowsill above my kitchen sink, swishing back and forth. Keeping an exact beat like a medichrome, it always cheers me. Its upbeat, constant, perky sway reminds me so much of her.
Nancy Robinson died a few days ago, at age 97. She was one of the only people I’ve ever seen who kept her beauty for almost a century. My brother-in-law, Mike Robinson, captured her perfectly in the obituary he wrote for her, calling her a mixture of Ava Gardner and June Cleaver. I’m telling you, she put them both to shame. I read somewhere some famous person said Ava Gardner had a face you wanted to just fall into, she was that beautiful. The same could be said of Nancy. And June Cleaver pales in comparison to Nancy’s manhandling six rowdy, energetic, busy children (not to mention her husband, Wig, who was no Ward Cleaver). I always kidded her for making my role as a wife and mother impossible. Up before dawn after tucking the last child in bed only hours before, she cooked hot custom breakfasts every morning, short order style. Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, French toast, dry toast, pancakes, cereal with bananas … And she looked like a movie star first thing in the morning. She never wore much make-up – just a little lipstick.
A voracious reader all her life, the phi beta kappa Vanderbilt grad couldn’t see well enough to read for the last few years of her life. And hearing well was a challenge, too. Her body hurt most of the time. But these issues never defined her, even during her last weeks on Earth.
She turned 97 on Dec. 3, and was celebrated at Thrive at Brow Wood in grand style with a decadent chocolate cake, her favorite. The room was packed with all of her family all telling stories and laughing and kidding. Front and center, she loved every minute.
Days later, she was in bed more than out of bed, and one or more of her children were by her side almost around the clock. They fussed over her, tending to her and making sure she was comfortable. Group texts among them were constant as they all addressed every single thing they could think of to make their mother comfortable. They regularly brought delicacies to her to encourage her to eat. Homemade mashed potatoes and Le Sueur peas appeared hours after Nancy mentioned them, and a large Frosty was offered regularly.
Hours before Nancy passed, her daughter applied lipstick to her mother’s chapped lips.
“Mom, I just put a little lipstick on you, okay?” one of her daughters said.
“Well, I’m glad it was you and not one of the boys; it would be all over my face!” Nancy quipped.
She was a star, all the way around. She was the one who told her children she was ready to go to Thrive. She was the one who handed over her keys, saying, “Ninety is too old for me to be driving.” She was the one who rocked her new community at Thrive, participating in everything from karaoke and bingo to the penny auction and balloon volleyball.
One of the last of the Greatest Generation, she lived this life well. She showed her children how it should be done. She did more than manhandle them, of course. She loved them. Every single one of those outstanding, lovely, big-hearted children always knew, without a doubt, that they were her favorite. And every single one was right.
OBITUARY CORRECTION: This is not a private graveside service. Anyone who wants to pay their respects to Nancy Robinson is welcome and encouraged to join her family at Forest Hills Cemetery on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 2 p.m.
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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series “If Bugs Are Banished.” “Making Arrangements” is her first novel. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. Her website is ferrisrobinson.com and you can download a free pollinator poster there. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.