Edwin Hewitt Robins

Ed Robins was born in Tonawanda, NY, on August 21, 1928, to Emma Hewitt Robins and Erford Elmer Robins. He had one sister, Elizabeth Ann Martin. He was born at the start of the Great Depression, and the frugality and discipline required of their family during that time would stay with him his whole life

He spent his childhood in a small town in New York. His family loved to hear his stories of how he and his friends swam in the Erie Canal and jumped off railroad bridges into the water. In this day of bicycle helmets and car seats, he and his friends did many things that parents would be horrified about today.

During high school, he and his friends, Dick Braun and Gus Streer, had much fun as members of the Eldridge Bicycle Club. We don't know how much bike riding they did, but we do know they liked to play pool at the club. During the summers he would go to Canada to work on his uncle's dairy farm in Ontario. He enjoyed farming, and even thought about becoming a farmer.

After high school graduation, he entered the U.S. Air Force, serving from 1948 to 1952. He was stationed at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, during the Korean War. The recruits were given an aptitude test, and since his marks were high; he was selected to be an instructor in telephone, teletype, and cryptography machines. When he was on leave, he sometimes went to Denver ,and he grew to love this part of the country. While he was in the service, he met some engineers and decided that he might enjoy that line of work. He was always grateful to the military for giving him direction in his life.

After serving four years in the Air Force, he enrolled at the University of Buffalo in September 1952 through the GI bill, and He lived with his parents while attending the university. He earned a BS degree in Electrical Engineering in June 1956.

That same year the Martin Company (later Lockheed Martin) opened a plant in Denver. Ed took an application from Boeing and crossed out Boeing and mailed it to the Martin Company. He had a telephone interview and mailed him their application. They hired him on the spot without even a personal interview. He worked for the Martin Company from June 1956 through May 1992 (36 years) as an antenna engineer.

As a single engineer, Ed spent his weekends skiing or camping and hiking. He loved the mountains and being outdoors.

While Ed was working at the Martin Company, he met his future wife, Polly. Polly worked at the Martin Company as a secretary and joined Ed's carpool. Before long they started dating. It was during the time they were dating, that Ed asked Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Savior. After a while, they quit going together, and Polly moved to Palisade, CO, to teach school. Some mutual friends suggested that Polly contact Ed. Ed started making the long drive to Palisade on weekends to see her, and the relationship moved quickly. By April they were engaged, and they were married on June 30, 1962, at South Sheridan Baptist Church by Pastor Ed Nelson.

Ed and Polly welcomed a daughter, Nancy, in 1964, and a son, Jim, in 1967. Ed loved family life and was very close to his family. On weekends he liked to take the family on drives, picnics, and hikes in the mountains. He liked to work in the yard and garden. He loved homegrown tomatoes, and for many years grew them in the backyard. He also loved petunias. He always said that petunias were a great choice for this part of the country because they give you so much "bang for the buck."

He used his engineering skills in things he did at home. He was meticulous in his record keeping and made sure that everything was clearly labeled. He always believed that if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing right. He would also set up many feats of engineering in the home. He was famous in the family for his system of valves and hoses which he set up to water the yard and to save the spigot from wear and tear.

At work, Ed was given a cartoon drawn by a coworker of him with a cape and mask as Captain Run-Amok. He was the one they counted on to bring order whenever everything at work was whirling out of control. He loved his work, and worked very hard for the Martin Company.

He loved to travel, and he did a lot of traveling for work, and he accumulated many frequent flier miles which enabled the family to take some wonderful trips to places including Hawaii, San Diego, and the Washington DC area. He would painstakingly do all the planning ahead of time so that they never wasted any time figuring out what to do when they got to their destination. He already had everything mapped out.

Ed also loved drag racing – a love (and some say obsession) he passed on to his son Jim. He and Jim often spent time at the races at Bandimere Speedway, and they watched hours and hours of NHRA drag racing on television.

He was a sweet, kind, loveable , generous man, always putting others first. He was a hero to us and to others. The following is a note written to him during his recent illness from a neighbor who lived across the street from us more than thirty years ago. "Dear Ed, over the years I have recalled many times your bravery the night an intruder invaded our home.
You didn't hesitate to rush to the aid of Amy and Scott as they slept. You were willing to face a man armed with a gun, risking serious harm, with a rake as your only weapon–that took courage plus a caring heart.You will forever remain a hero in my book."

Ed was very intelligent. Polly used to say that there wasn't anything Ed couldn't figure out how to do it. He also was witty and had a great sense of humor. He loved the Warner Brothers cartoons, especially Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner.

He had many wonderful and endearing qualities. Many people loved him, and we will miss him greatly. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It is a great comfort to us to know that Ed is with the Lord this very moment. St Augustine said, "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." Ed has finally received his reward.