MARY LEE ROBISON of SOUTH HADLEY, MASS, December 17, 1957 – March 24, 2014
March 27th, 2014 | 
Author: South Hadley, Mary Lee {Trompke} Robison, Ph.D. died March 24, 2014, from complications of leukemia at Mass General Hospital in Boston. She was born in Holyoke on December 17, 1957, to Marjorie Trompke Graham and Edward Trompke. Mary attended Granby elementary schools and graduated from Amherst Regional High School. She received her AA from Holyoke Community College, in addition to a BA, MA, and Ph.D. from UMass Amherst. Mary did field work for her master’s thesis at Historic Deerfield and for her doctoral dissertation at Museo Na Bolom in San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico. She was formerly married to John Elder Robison of Amherst, with whom she had one son, Jack. Mary was an inventor, building specialty electronics for rock bands including Kiss and Pink Floyd. She was a founder of the science fiction convention Arisia, where she showcased her abilities as an avid costumer and seamstress. A born educator, she was a founding member of the Western Massachusetts hacker space movement and taught at UMass Amherst, Holyoke Community College, Salter College, and the Springfield Renaissance School. She enjoyed trivia and was a successful contestant on “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” in 2005. She is survived by her beloved son, Jack Robison, her mother, Marjorie Graham of Pace, FL, sister, Karen Trompke of Pensacola, FL, brother Edward Trompke of Lake Oswego, Oregon, and many cousins, friends, and former students. Mary climbed pyramids, read a library’s worth of books, and was dearly loved by friends and family. She will be sorely missed. In lieu of flowers, Mary requests contributions to the Dr. Mary L. Robison Endowment at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst for graduate students in Anthropology. A Mass will be held on Friday March 28, 2014 at 10:00 AM at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel at the Newman Center, UMASS Amherst, with FR. Gary Daley, officiating, followed by a reception in the Quigley Room at the same location. A private burial will be in West Cemetery, Granby. There are no calling hours. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral .com
Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.
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