Russell Robins
Russell Harvey Robins Obituary
We will celebrate the life of Russell Harvey Robins (1957-2024) of Chesterfield, Missouri, on 11 August 2024 from 2 to 4 p.m. CT at Veritas, 15860 Fountain Plaza Drive, Ellisville, Missouri. A separate celebration will be held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at a future date.
Russell was born on 2 December 1957 in Omaha, Nebraska, to Bonnie Lee Ackers Robins and Burl Harvey Robins, Junior, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He died at Mercy de Greeff Hospice in Creve Coeur, Missouri, on 27 July 2024, after a short illness.
Russell moved with his parents and brother from Nebraska to the Kalamazoo, Michigan, area in 1964. He attended schools in Parchment and Portage, Michigan, and graduated at Portage Northern High School in 1976. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Michigan in 1980, majoring in organic chemistry. After graduation, he worked in the research division of the Upjohn Company, in Kalamazoo, and developed a national reputation in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, writing or co-writing peer-reviewed papers on the subject. Russell later worked at Pharmacia and Pfizer, retiring from a senior scientific information technology position at the latter in Chesterfield, Missouri, in 2019.
Russell was passionate about his work in pharmaceuticals. But he was also passionate about his avocations of photography, video production, birdwatching, and amateur radio. He was a licensed “ham” radio operator as WN8QZE beginning in the 1970’s, and later as Advanced Class N8HOQ, and enjoyed speaking with other “hams” all over the world by shortwave radio. Russell was also a pilot of ultralight aircraft and even flew a powered paragliding craft in Italy. His work allowed to travel internationally, visiting Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. He was actively involved as a volunteer for the theatre program at Marquette High School in Chesterfield where his son Adriano performed in many stage productions.
Married twice, Russell had three sons: Teague Robins and Kaegan Robins of Kalamazoo, and Adriano Robins of Chesterfield.
Russell was preceded in death by his parents and by his son Kaegan. He is survived by his elder brother, Andrew, of Kalamazoo, Michigan; by his sons Teague and Adriano; two grandchildren: Silas and Quinley Robins of Kalamazoo; daughter-in-law Heather Robins of Kalamazoo; sister-in law Dorothy Robins of Kalamazoo; niece Jaime Robins Raifsnider of Vicksburg, Michigan; nephew Noah Robins of Kalamazoo; and grandniece Finley Raifsnider of Vicksburg; as well as by former spouses Beth Ann Laird of Kalamazoo and Silvia Portolan of Ballwin, Missouri.
Russ was a smart, funny, hardworking and talented man. He had a scientific mind and was a good communicator, very well educated and well read, yet also skilled at many manual skills jobs such as wood and metal working, building competition race car engines, and landscaping. he enjoyed being out in nature, built and flew aircraft, an avid amateur photographer and ham radio operator, and he dedicated himself to his children and supporting their endeavors. He worked his way through U of M in chemistry by working in automotive and machine shops. Russ could fix anything, and he wasn’t afraid of hard work. He loved his family. We will miss him.
To the Robin’s family, I am so sorry for your loss. Russ was amazing guy and I loved spending time with him. I was the technical director at Marquette, and frequently worked with run to film and photograph pictures of all our production. Russ always went out of his way to teach me things and say hello. Before Marquette, I was the technical director and lighting designer for spotlight productions here in st.louis, of which Adriano was very active. Russ took time out of his day to come take photos of the lighting and set designs so that I and other designers could use the photos in our portfolio. He even went above and beyond to edit all the photos and make them 10x better. No payment no nothin. That was just the kind of guy he was. When it came the time for me to purchase my own camera, Russ was the first person I went to seeking advice and he helped me out the whole way. I cannot thank Russ enough for everything he has done for me. Every time I look at those incredible photos he took, it’ll remind me of him. He will be truly truly missed.