STACYVILLE, SHERMAN, LAKE WALES, Fla., and NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Avis M. (Stubbs) Robinson, 86, of New Bedford, Mass., died Jan. 22, 2010. A native of Sherman and Stacyville, she was the mother of six children, Diane and husband, Edward DeJong, Suzanne and husband, Michael Wade, Michael and wife, Carol, Gary, who died in 1945, Craig and wife, Patty, and Mark Robinson. She was the grandmother of four grandchildren, Ann Andrews and Brian Robinson, Jared, who died in 2009, and Aaron Wade; and great-grandmother of five great-grandchildren, Olivia Yuhas, Taylor and Abigail Andrews, Kelsey and Alyssa Robinson. She is also survived by her sister, Marilyn Shimp of Lake Wales, Fla. Avis was predeceased after 62 years of marriage by her loving husband, Leslie; her son, Gary; her beloved brother, Clayton – a U.S. Marine, who died on the beaches of Iwo Jima; her parents, Annie (Ingraham) and Guy Stubbs; her grandson, Jared; and a very dear friend, and contract bridge partner, Dorothy Marble. The family is especially grateful for the home-like environment and loving care she received at The Cedars the last three and a half years of her life. Avis was a loving and compassionate person who spent her last years in the darkness of Alzheimer’s disease. She graduated from Sherman High School at 16; and was married in 1941. Avis and Leslie wintered in Florida for 30 years at Saddlebag Lake Resorts, Lake Wales, Fla., where they had many friends and fond memories. She moved to New Bedford, Mass., in 2006, where she later became a member of Smith Mills Congregational Church and a resident of The Cedars, both in Dartmouth, Mass. Avis was a lifelong member of Washburn Memorial Church, Sherman, and was active all her adult life in Women’s Fellowship and the church. She was an avid bridge player, evidenced later in life, by “making it” to a scheduled game in Lake Wales, Fla., not 24 hours after undergoing gall bladder surgery. Avis loved people and was a great conversationalist, renowned in the family for speaking with perfect strangers, genuinely interested in their “stories.” She loved babies and children and was a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, grandmother and friend. She was an intelligent and engaged woman, an accomplished cook and gardener, an active and involved member of her community – yet always found time to visit and be with people. She was greatly loved by family and friends and will be sorely missed. Friends in the New Bedford, Mass., area are invited to visit with the family 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, at the home of Michael and Carol, 887 Pine Hill Road, New Bedford, Mass. A memorial service in her honor will be held in Maine this summer. Donations would be appreciated, in lieu of flowers, to Ronald MacDonald House, Inc., 654 State St., Bangor, ME 04401.
AVIS M. (STUBBS) ROBINSON
