By By JAN GRIFFEY
Niles Daily Star
NILES - Long-time Niles realtor and businessman Art Robinson died Saturday, following an extended illness.
Robinson consistently led the area in real estate sales, Tracey recalled.
Robinson, 83, of Sassafras Lane, Niles, died at Hospice at Home, "The Meadows," Buchanan.
He was born on Feb. 2, 1921, in Detroit. Robinson was the eldest of three sons, with brothers, Don W. and Bruce J. Robinson.
He spent his youth in Detroit, graduating from Cooley High School where he played hockey and football. For many summers, he attended YMCA Camp Hayo-Went-Ha, and learned to sail and canoe on Torch Lake.
Robinson was a 1943 graduate of the University of Michigan, where he was a member of the Chi Psi fraternity. After graduation, he entered midshipman school at the Universiy of Notre Dame and was subsequently commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve.
He married Frances Capps, his college sweetheart, in Detroit on Sept. 24, 1943.
Assigned to Attack Transport No. 49, the U.S.S. Ormsby, Robinson served landing craft duty in the Pacific Theater. The Ormsby and her crew saw action at Pelilu and Leyte Gulf, and were involved in the relocation of the Chinese National 1st Army to Taiwan after the War. He was discharged from the U.S. Naval Reserve with the rank of Lieutenant.
After the War, Robinson was employed by Wyandotte Chemicals and lived with Fran and their children on Grosse Ile, until they moved to Niles in 1959. He worked at Electro-Voice in Buchanan until 1970, and then began a 30-year career in real estate.
As a realtor and broker with Morden Realty, which became today's Modern Realty, Robinson was the top sales associate in 1976 and achieved the Senior Million Dollar Club numerous times.
Robinson's community-minded spirit kept him active in various organizations in Niles. He was a member and two-term president of the Niles-Buchanan Club of Rotary International and a Paul Harris Fellow. He served as Chair of the Niles City Republican Party from 1967 to 1974. He was actively involved in the passage of a new city charter and served on the Zoning Board of Appeals. Robinson was a member of the Greater Niles Community Development Corp. Board of Directors, which sponsored the North Fifth Street revitalization project.
As a long-time parishioner of Trinity Episcopal Church, Robinson served several terms as a vestryman and was senior warden in 1984. For more than 40 years, Robinson was also a steadfast member of the choir's bass section.
Robinson had a life-long love for sailing, golf, music, and U of M football. Both Camp Hayo-Went-Ha and the University of Michigan benefited from his support.
Robinson's love for people and outgoing personality will be well remembered in his community.
Survivors include, his wife, Frances of Niles; his daughters, Sally Lister of Black River Falls, Wis., and Martha White of Westbrook, Conn.; one brother, Don W. Robinson; and five grandsons, Matthew Lister, M.D., Joshua Lister, Alexander White, Benjamin White, and Nicholas White.
The memorial service for Arthur Robinson will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, at Trinity Episcopal Church, Niles, with the Rev. Franklin P. Schuster, III of the church officiating.
The family will receive friends in the church hall immediately following the service.
Committal services will be on a later date at Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles, where the family will gather privately.
Arrangements are being completed by Halbritter Funeral Home, Niles.
Memorial contributions may be made to the church, to Hospice at Home, or Fernwood Botanic Gardens.
Arrangements were made by Halbritter Funeral Home, 315 E. Main St. Niles, MI, 49120.