Charlie Robinson

Charlie Robinson died this week.
He was a prince of a man,
and his death impacted me profoundly for some reason.
I cried and cried and cried
even though I knew his passing was merciful.
He's been lingering and wasting away for years,
the result of strokes that ravaged his body
and left him paralyzed, unable to speak except through a tube.
His wife Bobbie Sue tended him carefully,
loving him,
caring for him,
advocating for him to the end.
It was a lifetime of faithful love.

We last saw Charlie in October.
Forrest and I stopped in for a visit,
and it was as though we had entered another world.
There was peace in that room and joy.
Sunshine flooded the place
and the graciousness that was Charlie Robinson
spilled over into our hearts.

Some people radiate the Christian faith better than others.
He was able to do that
despite all manner of adversity.
There was a sweetness to him
and a gentleness
that warmed my heart.

In his earlier days he was an entrepreneur of world class status,
taking nothing and making it into something fabulous.
He did that with a little mailbox store in a strip shopping center.
Before anyone knew it, it was the biggest in the world,
UPS 4th largest customer in the entire United States.
Forrest and I went with him and Bobbie Sue to California once
where Charlie won every award that was to be given.
There was not enough wall space on which to hang all his awards.

He did it with grace and a smile and a tenacity that was astounding.
When one door closed, he found another one, and then another one.
The man never gave up.

In his heart of hearts he loved God.
He loved Bobbie Sue and cried whenever he spoke of her
or his beloved West Point.
and he was so very proud of his children and grandchildren.

The world will not soon see another man like Charlie Robinson,
elder emeritus in the very best sense of the word,
entrepreneur,
husband and father,
a devoted friend who would never abandon us nor let us go.

It makes me cry to think of saying farewell to Charlie.
He's been a pillar of faith to me in so many ways,
and I have loved him and Bobbie Sue fiercely.
May the angels of heaven rejoice at his coming,
and prepare a place for him in a lovely mansion.
How blessed they will be to know him.
How blessed I am to have been his friend.
Farewell, Charlie, I'll be along before long.