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Daphne Margaret Robinson
1926-2018

We lovingly remember Daphne Margaret Robinson, who died March 26 at Lions Gate Hospital. She had only just been transferred from her home in West Vancouver, where for several years she had been living with heart disease.

Daphne was born in Oxford, England in 1926. The daughter of Ross and Ellen Downer, she was the sixth of seven siblings. A schoolgirl during WWII, she worked as a librarian and nanny before meeting her husband to be (who fell head over heels for the beautiful Daphne).

She married Roland Robinson in Bognor Regis, England in 1951, and they subsequently immigrated in 1957 to Canada with their two young sons, Christopher and Anthony. They made land fall in Montreal and took the train to Vancouver. After a brief stay in North Vancouver, they settled in Creston, BC.

Daphne was a devoted wife and mother, taking great joy in the raising of her family in that beautiful part of the Kootenays. It was from there that the young family of four developed a love for the wild beauty of western North America through frequent forays to regions as diverse as the Canadian Rockies and the California coast. Photo albums are replete with pictures of Daphne exploring, swimming and hiking with her family, and tending to the campsite.

In the mid 60’s they moved to North Vancouver. Vancouver’s North Shore was where she would live for the remainder of her life. Daphne and Roland carved out a satisfying role within their community. Daphne ran her own business for a few years after her boys had finished school. She took great pleasure in supporting Roland in his work with Kiwanis – particularly the social activities. And they continued their love of travel - flying further afield once Roland had retired.

After Roland died in 1990, she lived an independent life exploring the nooks and crannies of the community that she loved. She could regularly be seen on the many pathways of North and West Vancouver, at all hours of the day – walking many kilometres a week well into her late 80’s.

Sport was always an important part of Daphne’s life, ranging from netball during her school years to tennis well into her elderly years. When her eldest grandson of hers was aced on the tennis court by his 80 year old grandmother, his excuse to an amused witness was – ‘She’s no ordinary old lady!’, and then followed up by losing several matches.

In her later years, her passion was her grandchildren. Joining them for a family holiday at the lake, where she was always game for anything: mini golf, cookouts, or fetching a stick in the water far from the shore when the dog gave up on it. She took great pleasure in attending school Christmas concerts and ballet recitals. And she entertained all with her disregard for inconvenient rules: the inappropriate words added to the scrabble boards, or the application of a hammer to the jigsaw piece that didn’t quite fit the puzzle.

Daphne had an innate sense of style (that tended to the eccentric in her later years). She had a quirky sense of humour that caught people off guard, and a unique ability to leave everyone around her nonplussed with a simple off-the-cuff retort. We will miss it all so very much.

As well as her two sons, she is survived by their wives, Cathleen and Carla, her grandchildren David, Michelle, Scott and Colin, and great-grandson Liam – all of whom she adored.

We are thankful for the loving support Daphne received from caregivers provided by We Care, particularly her dedicated companion Dori. And are grateful for the close attention she received from her inspirational Nurse Practitioner Sheila Turris, and her team.

We would appreciate donations in her memory made to the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, referencing the North Shore Palliative Care Program.