Margaret Robinson passed away on October 4, surrounded by her children, Drew and Stephanie. She was 88. Born in Buffalo, New York to Amelia and Michael Sorieri, Margaret grew up in New Rochelle, New York as a part of a large and close-knit Italian-American family. She attended the College of New Rochelle and earned a Bachelor of Science as a biology major.
After graduation, Margaret worked briefly at Sloan-Kettering doing cancer research, and then married USAF 2nd Lieutenant Andrew Robinson, whom she’d met on a blind date in college, set up by her cousin. As the wife of an officer, she volunteered as a “gray lady” in the base hospital in Georgia, greeting and assisting patients during appointments.
Margaret and Andy moved back to New York State to be near family and raise their children. She and Andy retired to Williamsburg, Virginia in 2005 and enjoyed life in the vibrant Windsor Forest neighborhood.
Margaret was the person everyone immediately loved. Always gregarious, she could – and did – start a conversation with a stranger on a train or in the store and become that person’s best friend in minutes. She was the mother who baked cookies, sewed doll clothes ( and regular clothes), knitted mittens, drove to piano and dance lessons and made animal-shaped birthday cakes. She loved her children’s friends as if they were her own. She was always ready with a smile, a hug, and a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce.
Her talents were many and varied. Her knitting and crocheting skills benefitted the Williamsburg Knitting Guild and the knitting ministries at St. Olaf and St. Bede churches. She fashioned baby sweaters, baby blankets, lap robes, dog sweaters, mittens, scarves, prayer shawls and dish clothes that are being used far and wide. She taught her daughter how to knit and crochet to carry on the legacy.
Her mother showed her how to sew as a child, and Margaret channeled that skill into a home-based business as an adult, sewing custom-fit ceremonial capes for the Knights of Columbus for The Jim English Company.
Margaret also worked for the community as a member and past president of the Inner Wheel Club of Westchester in New York. Made up of Rotary spouses, the club did fundraising projects to promote true friendship, provide community service, and foster international understanding.
One of her greatest joys was music. As a child she learned piano and in 1972, she answered an ad for singers to become a member of the Westchester Hills Chorus of Sweet Adelines International. She fell in love with the 4-part acapella barbershop harmony style of music and went on to sing baritone with Sweet Adelines International for more than 30 years. She sang with Westchester Hills, then Golden Apple Chorus, and from 1993 to 2005 with the Ramapo Valley Chorus, with her daughter Stephanie. Together they performed with Ramapo Valley and traveled around the county to participate in 6 international chorus competitions. After Margaret retired, she continued to attend contests and shows to support her daughter, who still sings with a barbershop chorus today.
Margaret’s warmth and generosity was evident to anyone who met her. She had an adventurous spirit and used it to benefit others. When her husband Andy’s father passed away, she was the one who said the family should take Andy’s mother back to Ireland to visit her nieces and nephews while his mother was still healthy and able. Although she was definitely not a sailor, she suggested a side trip of whitewater rafting when the family was on an Alaskan cruise. A dog lover all of her life, after the family dog passed away, Margaret opened her home to watch the dogs of friends and family during vacations, free of charge; the attention she provided at “Camp Robinson” made the house a favorite doggy daycare for many canines for years.
Margaret is reunited in eternal peace with her beloved parents, Michael and Amelia Sorieri. She leaves behind her devoted husband of almost 66 years, Andy Robinson, her son Drew and daughter Stephanie, and her sister Claire Ann Nappi, as well as many nieces and nephews, cousins and the numerous friends who became part of her life and were made better by knowing her.
