Obituary of Jack Bruce Robinson

Jack Bruce Robinson passed away June 6, 2023, in Olympia, Wash., his home of 25 years.  He was born July 13, 1933, to Percy and Amanda Robinson in Centralia, Wash.  Over the years in addition to Centralia, he lived in Tenino, Wash., and Fortuna, Calif.

Jack spent his formative years riding horses, fishing, and generally exploring the area around Centralia and the surrounding countryside.  He graduated from Centralia High School in 1952, joined the U.S. Army on February 12, 1953, and was honorably discharged on February 11, 1955.  He married Reola Lee Bowen on March 16, 1955, in Carlota, Calif.

In 1955, Jack worked in the woods as a logger.  For a short time, he was a topper and pulled green chain in mills, but soon he took up the trade of log truck driver.  In the early ‘60s, Jack tried his hand as a gypo logger and was one of the first people to selective log in California. The log market was already on the wane when it was completely wiped out by the 1964 flood.

Jack then joined Operating Engineers Local 3 as a cat skinner, working on repairing and expanding Hwy 101 from Eureka, Calif., to Garberville, Calif., along the Eel River Basin.  Upon completion of that project, he packed up and moved his family to Tenino, Wash., where he bought a 20-acre farm, intending to develop the property into a mobile home park, which was all the rage at the time.  While working the park project, he found employment at Washington Irrigation Development Company (WIDCO) as an equipment operator, and advanced to Foreman and eventually Superintendent.  He retired from WIDCO in the early ‘80s.

Jack and Reola operated the Tenino Mobile Home Park for many years.  When they sold the venture, they moved to Tumwater to the “house on the hill.”  They lived there until the house was damaged by an earthquake, at which time they designed and built their dream home in East Olympia, where they lived “in the woods” with the coyotes, bobcats, and rabbits.

Jack is survived by his sons, Kim (Becky), Dain and Lete Robinson; 10 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.  He was predeceased by his wife of 66 years, Reola Robinson (February 2022); his sisters, Helen Hanson and Winifred Hagen; his brother, Donald Robinson; his parents, Percy and Amanda Robinson; and grandson, Randen Robinson.

There will be a graveside service on Friday, June 30, 2023, 11:00 a.m. at Forest Grove Cemetery, 18011 Northcraft Rd. SE, Tenino, WA 98589.

Please leave condolences or share memories and photos on the Tribute Wall to the left.

 

 

 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jack Robinson, please visit Tribute Store