Ella Robinson

Ella Robinson of Douglas, a member of the last generation of Wyoming pioneers, died peacefully on Dec. 22 at the Butler County Health Care facility in David City, Nebraska. A memorial service to celebrate Ella's 97 years of vigorous, happy life will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Douglas on Jan. 6 at 1pm, with the deceased's granddaughter, the Rev. Lynne Butler, officiating. Bustard's Funeral Directors of Casper is in charge of arrangements. Ella was born in St. Edward, Nebraska, on July 10, 1916, the second child of Con and Blanch (Jones) Edwards. The Edwards family moved to Converse County, Wyoming, in 1923 and homesteaded 12 miles northeast of Douglas on the Walker Creek Road. Ella recalled living in town while the homestead house was being constructed and did not much like going to school at the South Grade. She was much happier when the family moved to their own home and she could walk to the rural school called "Happy Hollow." During the years Ella attended Happy Hollow there were many homesteading families living in the area; the school had two buildings, two teachers, and at least 25 children. Ella was sad to see Happy Hollow School close in 1943 after her own daughter, Dorothy, finished the second grade; the attendance by that time had declined to three pupils. The Edwards family property was near to the homestead of Tom Robinson Sr. Ella loved to tell the story about her parents' decision to take her back to Nebraska for her senior year of high school. Instead, she and Tom Robinson Jr. eloped on October 13, 1934 and were married in Hot Springs, South Dakota. The marriage lasted just shy of 70 years, until Tom's death in 2004. A favorite, good-natured point of contention between them was that whereas the Robinsons had moved to Wyoming in a horse-drawn wagon, the more modern Edwards family had come to Douglas in a Model T Ford. Eventually Ella and Tom acquired both the Edwards homestead and the Robinson Ranch. Known as extremely hard workers, they raised sheep and cattle for many decades. In 2003 they received the cooperator of the year award from the Converse County Conservation District for their exemplary ranching practices. Ella was particularly proud that the Robinson Ranch had been in the family for 97 years and was looking forward to celebrating the centennial of ranching operations there. Besides helping run the family ranch, Ella worked for ten years in Douglas as a school cafeteria cook. This past summer she was honored by the Douglas High School class of 1953 as its first honorary class sponsor; she had never missed one of their reunions and had outlived all of their teachers. Ella was never happier than when she was working in her bountiful garden and kept numerous friends supplied with vegetables during the summer. She also loved to cook and her friends looked forward to her coffee and card parties. At Christmas time Ella was known for baking and distributing hundreds of delicious cookies. Tom encouraged Ella to enter her garden vegetables and baked goods in competition at the WY State Fair; the result was many blue ribbons over the years, a fact that seemed to make Tom more proud than Ella. Ella was a faithful churchgoer, at different times attending the First Baptist, First United Methodist, and Congregational churches in Douglas. She was also a regular and devoted visitor to the Douglas Senior Center where she enjoyed eating lunch and socializing. Ella was a member of the Converse County Farm Bureau, Wyoming Pioneer Association, a lifetime member of the Rebecca Lodge, and sometimes joked that she needed to maintain her affiliations with various organizations so that "there would be something to write about in my obituary." Ella is survived by her daughter, Dorothy Butler of Georgetown, KY; three grandchildren-Jay (Linda) Butler of Douglas, Lynne (John Hicks) Butler of Denver, and Tom (Wendy de Forest) Butler of Huntington, VT; four great-grandchildren-Karen (Mark) Drumhiller, Beth Butler, Grace Butler, and Larson Butler; five great-great grandchildren; a sister, Darlene Shrader of David City, NE; a sister-in-law, Lorna Edwards of Keeline, WY; and several nieces and nephews including Joe (Darlene) Hageman, Bob (Judy) Hageman, and Denise (Ron) Johnson of Converse County. She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Robinson Jr., her mother, father, brothers Raymond Edwards and Clyde Edwards, and sisters Pauline Edwards Parke, Marie Hageman Straw, and Rose May Edwards, who died in infancy. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials may be directed to the Douglas Senior Center, Box 192 , Douglas, WY 82633.

Service

Monday, January 6, 2014 1:00pm

First United Methodist in Douglas

Douglas, Wyoming