Chris Robison loved people. With a twinkle in his eye, he always had a laugh and a joke to share, always a wave for the dog walkers and ferry workers. He loved nothing more than connecting over coffee and food, wine and conversation.
Chris was an ardent volunteer in the very best sense of the word. He was ever ready to help friends and neighbors fix things around their homes and inevitably had the proper tool to get the job done. When called on for an “emergency fix”, he was in his element.
Chris’s volunteerism included serving our country in the Navy as a sonar technician on diesel and nuclear submarines, and serving in the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa. He also earned a Master Home Environmentalist certificate from the American Lung Association where he met the love of his life, Amy Greenberg. They were married in 1998.
Chris and Amy moved to Vashon Island in 2008, where they volunteered the use of their land to be farmed for fresh vegetables for distribution to the Vashon- Maury Island Food Bank. Chris completed training for CERT, Vashon’s Community Emergency Response Team, and was studying to be a HAM radio operator.
A life-long scholar, with an insatiable appetite for new skills, Chris could always be found with a book on how to improve or repair something, or a way to make himself a better person. His extroverted personality and eclectic interests attracted a wide and diverse circle of friends, who appreciated his quick wit, his willingness to share, and his personal loyalty. Surprised homeowners would sometimes find that a service call to fix their furnace included knowledgeable appreciation of the art on their walls or expert advice on cooking mushrooms. Chris connected easily with everyone from infants, who were fascinated with him, to the very elderly and the nerdiest of nerds. He was comfortable with people of all educations and backgrounds.
Chris was born in Seattle on December 20, 1952, eldest of three brothers, to Margaret Kerry and Vernon V. Robison. He attended St. Joseph’s grade school and Seattle Prep on Capitol Hill. When Chris was 12-13 the Robison family spent a year traveling in Europe and Morocco, a trip which informed and inspired Chris throughout his life.
He started college in Bellingham, left to serve in the Navy, then completed his bachelor’s degree at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, before joining the Peace Corps.
Chris’s ceaseless curiosity and thirst for learning paved the way for many professions, including professional diver, baker and pastry chef, state grain inspector, home heating technician and oil burner mechanic. He worked more than 15 years as a real estate broker in partnership with his wife, Amy. Chris added home inspector to his list of accomplishments, shortly before his diagnosis of kidney cancer. He died peacefully this November at his home on Vashon Island.
Chris is survived by Amy Greenberg, his wife of 20 years, brothers Gregory (Liane Dorsey) and Stephen, father in-law Robert Greenberg, siblings in-law Margo Greenberg Tavss (Jim), Susan Greenberg Stabile (Bill), Richard Greenberg (Leigh Ann), and Sharon Greenberg Goren (Dave), many nieces, nephews, great-niece and -nephews, uncle Sam Robison, aunt Phyllis Robison McDonald, many cousins, and many, many friends.
A private gathering will be held at a future time. Consider a donation in Chris’s honor to one of the following charities:
Havurat Ee Shalom
P.O. Box 89 • Vashon, WA 98070
https://vashonhavurah.org/be-involved/donate/
St. John Vianney
PO Box 308 • Vashon, WA 98070
https://osvonlinegiving.com/4480/Home/NewQuickGive
Providence Hospice of Seattle Foundation – Attention Vashon
2811 S 102nd Street, Suite 220 • Tukwila, WA 98168
https://washington.providence.org/donate/hospice-of-seattle-foundation/ways-to-give/memorial-giving
