Lawrence J. Robinson

Lawrence J. Robinson, beloved husband of Linda Brooks Robinson, died peacefully at his home in Albuquerque on June 5, 2021, at age 93. He is survived by his wife and by his children Georgene Lockerman, her husband Larry, and their children Chana, Dee, and Shlomo, their spouses and children; Laurie Diner, her husband Larry, and their children Nathan and Emma; Andrew Robinson, his wife Dale, and their sons Gregory and Dani; and Kenneth Robinson, his wife Ellen, and their daughter Rebecca. Robinson was born in New York to George and Minnie Robinson, emigrants from tsarist Russia.

After graduating cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law and serving in the U.S. Army JAG office, Robinson practiced law in Florida for 46 years, including as a prosecutor in Broward County, General Counsel for the University of South Florida, Tampa, and private practice in Sarasota. He was in the first group to be certified by The Florida Bar as a trial law specialist and the first group to be certified as an appellate law specialist. He was also certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Robinson was a City Commissioner and Vice Mayor of the City of Sarasota, served on various boards and offices of The Florida Bar, the Florida Supreme Court, the United Way, as member and president of the Rotary Club of Sarasota Bay, as a member and Worshipful Master of the Cary B. Fish Masonic Lodge, and leadership roles in other civic and environmental organizations. He was a frequent lecturer and writer on legal and medical issues. He enjoyed hiking; being a Florida flatlander did not deter him from taking a mountaineering course in Colorado, hiking on the Appalachian Trail, and trekking to the Himalayas in Nepal.

After retirement Robinson and wife Lin moved to New Mexico. He was soon active in the Rotary Club of Rio Rancho, served on the initial board of the Placitas Community Library, was a member of the Zia Daylight Masonic Lodge, and was a popular lecturer on constitutional law issues for the Institute for Lifelong Learning. An enthusiastic amateur photographer, Lawrence enjoyed creating landscape and abstract prints. He put his talent to work in Petroglyph National Monument’s rock art recording program, photographing petroglyphs as part of the cataloguing process.

Lawrence J. Robinson was an extraordinary person, admired by his fellow lawyers, enjoyed by his friends, and loved by his family. Those wishing to make a donation in his memory should know that a favorite cause was the afterschool teacher-student tutoring program to improve the educational skills of young children supported by the Rotary Club of Rio Rancho Foundation, P.O. Box 15842, Rio Rancho, NM 87174. Please designate the Dick Hillier Tutoring Program. A gathering to celebrate Lawrence Robinson’s life will be held 3:00, Sunday, June 13, at Overture, 6441 Palomas Ave. NE, Albuquerque.