Obituary of June Robinson

June Robinson was born in Seattle, Washington, to Luther and Ethel (Deppman) Schroeder, and passed away at the age of 90 on July 20, 2015, in Olympia Washington. Our family will be forever grateful to her caregiving angel, Elena, for the expert, compassionate, and loving care she gave June for nearly 8 years. Although June was raised in Ballard, her family has a long history on Vashon Island, where she met the love of her life, Jim Robinson, while she and her cousin Bernice Deppman attended a dance at the Burton Dance Hall. They were married in 1943 and raised their family in Ballard, retiring in the mid-70s to the home they built on Vashon Island. In 1963, June designed their retirement home (even building a scale model), which she and Jim built on Vashon Island, doing most of the work themselves. They were ahead of their time, and used mostly reclaimed materials to build their house. After the close of the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, Jim, June and three other couples bought several of the fair’s buildings, tore them down, and used their share of the materials for building their Vashon home. The lily-pad carpets from the Revlon pool became small area rugs for their home, and the bricks for the fireplaces and exterior trim came from the demolished Orpheum Theater in downtown Seattle. While building the house, June learned she could hang sheetrock with the best of them! Their unique home overlooked the west passage. June was artistic, extremely creative, and had a passion for gardening. She had the greenest thumb you ever saw, grew everything organic, collected rain water to irrigate the garden and composted long before it was cool. June could make or build anything, could spot a great bargain, kept impeccable records of everything and everyone and always, always had style and a quiet grace about her. She and Jim created many special family memories on the island. Their grandchildren loved spending time with them, gathering eggs, eating snap peas from June’s bountiful garden and indulging in her delicious “Breakfast Cookies.” Once they moved to Vashon, June “retired” and devoted 30 years to volunteering at Granny’s Attic thrift store, which helps support the island medical center. She also was instrumental in bringing the Vashon Heritage Museum to life, and for several years enjoyed being a member of the Garden Club. June was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Jim, in 1989. She is survived by her daughter, Lynne (Art) and son, Scott (Lois); grandchildren, Kerry, Kristin, Michael and Brian; four step-grandchildren, Gerard, Jill, Drema and Hilary; nieces, Susan, Jolene, Peggy, and Lorie; and nephews, Bob, Skip and Randy and their families. She is also survived by several cousins. Her family suggests remembrances to The Alzheimer’s Association, PO Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090. Please leave memories of June or condolences for her family in the Guestbook below.