Richard H. Robinson was born in Trenton, New Jersey, son of Dr. Richard Rogers Robinson and Katherine Elder Robinson, who were both educators. He prepared for Yale at Central High School in Trenton.

Richard was a member of the class of 1961 at Yale from the Fall of 1957 until January 1960. He returned in the Fall of 1960 and affiliated with our class. He was a member of Timothy Dwight College and had an active undergraduate career.

Richard joined the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program at Yale and competed on the NROTC rifle team, serving as captain his senior year. A crack shot, he also was on the Freshman Rifle Team and the Varsity Rifle Team, earning his major Y. He was secretary-treasurer of the NROTC rifle club his senior year.

After graduating, he was commissioned an Ensign and entered active duty with the Navy. He served until 1967 when he left to pursue a career in private industry. In the 1970's he worked as a contractor in China on a construction project for hydroelectric power on the Yangtze River. He then worked in corporate finance and insurance in La Jolla, California, in New Jersey and in Denver. While in Denver, he was active with Yale alumni programs.

Richard relocated to San Diego, California in 1997, serving as a business consultant and teaching courses at National University there. He continued to pursue his love of shooting and the outdoors, hunting elk in Colorado and fly fishing in the west.

He was stricken with renal cancer about two years before his death. Told he had only six months to live, he opted for the most aggressive treatment available and fought valiantly against his disease. He died on May 30, 2003, and was buried at the Mesa Grande Indian Reservation.

Richard was survived by his wife of 13 years, Judy Robinson, and his daughters Deborah Long of Richmond, Virginia and Cynthia Robinson of Bordentown, New Jersey, his son Will Childers of San Diego and a granddaughter. The family suggested donations be made to the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C.

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