Barton "Lee" Robinson

In Memory of Barton Lee Robinson
September 17, 1932 to October 21, 2008

I always thought of my Uncle Lee - or Barton Lee Robinson if you want to be formal - as what is called "The Common Man".

But you understand that this expression doesn't mean that he was - well - "common" or even ordinary. It is more like extraordinary and special.

The expression "the common man" implies the collection or accumulation of wonderful, remarkable characteristics in a single person. Maybe it is closer to the ideal of what we all should be. It is like saying "He was a regular guy" and meaning all that that implied.

First let me say that Uncle Lee was as modest as the day is long and he probably wouldn't appreciate me "bragging on him". And he would also acknowledge that he wasn't perfect - like all of us he made mistakes and had things that he hadn't done as well as he would have liked or that he would have done differently. Can you hear him say "I'd sure like to go back and do that over again?"

As I talked to some of the people who knew him two powerful things jumped out at me. The first is that everyone, and I mean everyone, said the same things about him. He was who he was, authentic, real, genuine, consistent, comfortable with who he was and a great husband and father.

As a boy I always thought of Uncle Lee as a "man's man." He had been an accomplished boxer in high school. He was an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He was fascinated by all that he could learn about the woods, nature and the creatures that lived in it. I think he was as comfortable in the woods and wilderness as he was in a meat market. I was in awe of all that he knew and could do in the outdoors.

I was always impressed in all my visits to see him with his intellect and curiosity about life. When I visited with his one of sons in law this was the first thing he remembered about him. He was an inquisitive man, a man with a passion to learn new things and to read on a wide range of subjects. He was one who asked questions to satisfy his curiosity. The breadth and depth of his knowledge was impressive to all who knew him. And if he didn't know he would say "I am going to read up on that" and you could be sure that at some point in the future in a conversation you would know he had.

He also had a great memory for what he had read - if he said he had read something somewhere - you just knew that he had.

But Lee was also a great listener and always was interested in what you had to say. He always made you feel special - that what you had to say was important. He didn't feel the need to impress you with what he knew or to make you understand that he was right. He never dominated a conversation.

These skills made him a great conversationalist - he was fun and interesting to visit with, and to talk to. You looked forward to talking to him. One of his great nieces, who really didn't know him before, came home from a conversation with him and said "what a great person to talk to - he is really cool!"

Uncle Lee had a great sense of humor, with more than a bit of a dry wit and an occasional love of a good practical joke. Having a good laugh with Uncle Lee was as good as laughs get – I was here in the fall of last year and got to enjoy an evening filled with stories and laughs.

He was also a great storyteller - concise and down to earth. I wish I could recapture his plain and yet rich way of telling about things.

Lee said on a number of occasions that they should have a “Humble School” for folks to go to. I think that Lee graduated with honors from that school.

More than one of his bosses said that he cared more about his customers than he did about their store. But we all know how that level of caring about others and level of service brought customers to the store. He was willing to go the extra mile, out of his way to provide you what you needed. My nephews remember going to the meat market and always bringing home more than they ordered and paid for. That's the way he was.

He was a great uncle too - my younger brother and sister spent time many summers in Soap Lake with Donna and Lee and LeAnne, Sandy and Leslie. Mark remembers how Uncle Lee would come home from work sensing that Mark had enough of all the girls during the day and would plan for the two of them to go explore for rocks or to hike - just to go off by themselves and do guy things. It was that sensitivity to others that is remembered and treasured.

One of the gentle ironies of life is that this man's man would be blessed with three daughters and that leads me to the second powerful thing that jumped out at me. He was a great father from the beginning, caring for these babies and loving them. He grew with them, supporting them, teaching them life's lessons (including NFL football), touching them with little things that they remember and that guide them to this day. He didn't just treat them as his girls - but each one as a significant individual - He spent time with each one making their relationship special and whether it was sitting the porch watching the stars and talking about life, or looking for interesting books to read or waltzing in the kitchen after doing the dishes, he was all theirs. All of us who knew him experienced some of this too.

He was a man comfortable in his own skin, he was honest and happy. Everyone liked him and loved him.

My Uncle Lee may have been "The Common Man" or a "regular guy" but he was an extraordinary person - intelligent and inquisitive, a listener and a story teller, a great husband and father, a great friend and a great member of our family and our community. We are all blessed to have had him in our lives.

I called him Uncle Lee throughout not in the genealogical sense as the husband of my mother's sister but in the more honorific sense - the sense that respects him as a warm, compassionate role model for all of us.

We love him and we miss him. But the lessons that he taught us about life and how to live it will comfort us in our loss, guide us, and carry us through our lives.

Source: Funeral Eulogy by Gary Fredericksen