MICHAEL ROBINETT October 23, 1951 - May 10, 2015

I am a mourner. I got the shock of my life on Sunday, May 17th when I did a google search for Michael Robinett and the first entry was his Obiturary ! We had spoken on the phone the week before. I called him twice and got no answer. I knew he was sick and not feeling well. He told me he went to the doctor for some tests. It showed an anyeurism "from his breastbone to the abdomen." I wondered why he was not in the hospital. After that, he told me he went to his primary care doctor who said, "I will hook you up with a cardiologist." Again I wondered why he was not in a hospital. Next thing I know, he's dead. I will never recover from this. I called his house where he lived with his mother and his brother Curt (while he was building a house in the backyard) and sister-in-law Sharon. (Sharon wrote the beautiful poem below.) His mother answered the phone and I asked her what happened. She said it was Sunday, May 10th, Mother's Day evening. He said he couldn't breathe. She told him to go to the ER. He said no, he could not drive. When his mother got up to check on him she found him on the bathroom floor, passed away. 

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

 

Beloved and dear friend Michael:
I am in shock and stunned after discovering this news on sunday ! For over thirty years you were always there, "hi, i'm calling to check up on you; I was sick last week that's why I didn't call." A more caring friend you will never find. Mike came out to Berkeley in June 1998 when I had major surgery. He stayed for three weeks and then drove me back East in a U-Haul truck. I met Mike at The Architects Collaborative in Cambridge when we were both working there in the late '70's. He was going to the BAC. We lived in Cambridge and then went to U.C. Berkeley. Although I only saw him three times since 1998 we stayed in touch through these years. I spoke to him two days before he passed away which turned out to be the last time. Together we visited Robby and Carol when they were in Pasadena. Mark stayed with us in Cambridge when he attended Berklee School of Music. In addition to the prolific amount of work he produced, he found time to collaborate with me on my synagogue project. His measured drawings of the Tabernacle in the Desert and the Temple of Solomon in cubits and feet drew a crowd when I displayed them at the Environmental Design Research Association conference. We were working on the book. He changed my life. I never met anybody like him. He was the most supportive and encouraging friend I ever had. I feel like I lost my best friend. A bright light has gone out. Peace and healing energy to the Robinett family.

~ 

Carol Miller, Guest Book Entry

 

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

 

Michael, you left this world no sound was heard 

I had not an idea, that life on Earth, would end for you and you would not be here.
You were gone before I knew it; no chance to say goodbye. 

I cannot grasp that you're not here or know the reason why.
Your tragic end, came swift and fast and I could not be here 

to hold your hand and comfort you;

it's much more than I can bear.
I wish I could rewind the clock and know now what I know. 

I could have hugged you one more time before you had to go.

In my heart I hold you close and there you shall remain 

until my time has come on earth when we shall meet again.

I love you so much Michael. 

The last two weeks I spent with you I will never forget. 

Just sitting on the porch in the dark talking for hours. 

I miss you so much and life won't be the same without you here. 

RIP my dear brother in law

~ 

Sharon Robinett,

Pensacola, Florida 

OBITUARY 

Michael was very interested in Hebrew. One day he sent me my name in Hebrew. My Hebrew name is Rachel, pronounced 'rochel' .

I went to Temple Beth Zion today and said Kaddish for Shirley's yahrtzeit and for Michael. I'm reading the Death and Mourning section on the Chabad website and also I am reading The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. I see there is a lot of overlap between Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism.