Robert Ernest Robinson died on Thursday March 12, 2026, in the ICU of MUSC Providence Hospital on Forest Drive in Columbia of heart failure following dual heart procedures. Born in Greenville, SC, on February 19, 1946, he was a son of Mitchell Robert Robinson and Mary Ernest Campbell Robinson.
Bob is survived by Patricia McDermott Robinson, his wife of 45 years, his daughter Laura (Kit) Whitley, his daughter Jill (Bill) Scheper, his son Michael (Shannon) Fields, his brothers Jack (Kitty) and Dan (Karen), his grandchildren MaryClaire and Benjamin Robert Whitley, William, Rebecca, Kaitlin, and Rachael Scheper, Elyse and Jacob Fields, his nieces and nephews as well as his brother-in-law Michael C. McDermott.
Bob was a member of Forest Lake Presbyterian Church where he was an elder, a member of Spring Valley Country Club, and a former Rotarian.
He worked for Delta Airlines for 18 years before becoming a realtor/broker in South and North Carolina where he worked for several companies before creating Resource Referrals, a national, corporate relocation company. After the sale of that company, he worked for Smith Dray Line as a realtor.
In addition to enjoying the sport of golf with his family members, he delighted in his many other golfing buddies both in Columbia and in Boone, NC, where he had a hole-in-one playing with his brother Dan. Bob was an avid reader, a terrific and innovative cook, and a musician who grew up in a musical household and played both the trumpet and banjo.
He was also an artist and painstakingly drew and planned the building of his homes. His mountain cottage was erected on an “unbuildable” lot in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Boone, NC, on Laurel Hill with a stunning view where for decades he loved to be with family and friends.
Bob was a sporting clays tournament enthusiast, and an intrepid traveler who drove on the highways of South Africa, Spain, France, and in Germany on the Autobahn. He enjoyed sailing his boat on Lake Murray as well as sailing his brother-in-law’s boat in the San Francisco Bay. Annual beach trips to Garden City “on the creek” were happily anticipated. The sand sculptures he formed were like few others, and he avidly searched for sharks’ teeth.
Animals had an affinity for Bob: dogs, birds, cats and horses. Every family dog became “Bob’s dog.” He taught the family parakeet to retrieve, yes, to retrieve. He raised a Quaker parakeet from its infancy by feeding it through a tube three times a day. Tucker thought Bob was his mother and jealously challenged any family member who got too close. Skittish young horses gravitated to Bob. He hunted birds from horseback. He would try almost anything, including fly fishing, which he briefly pursued only because of his dear friend Bill Steiger.
In July of 2025, he and Patti went with Jill and Bill to explore their Campbell family heritage in Scotland, where he ordered a kilt and accessories which he wore to his 80th birthday party in February. His wit, humor, great smile, and infectious laugh will be with us always.
Slainte Mhath to my beloved and my hero.
Memorial Service: March 21, 2:00 p.m. Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, 6500 North Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29206
Visitation: March 21, 2:30 p.m. Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, 6500 North Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29206
In lieu of flowers, please donate to Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, ETV, or a charity of one’s choice.
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