Malcolm W. Robinson Jr. died April 16, 2018, at his residence at Westminster in the World Golf Village after a few days of hospice care. He lived a vibrant personal and business life, raising a family with his wife of 55 years, Betsy. He was attended in his last conscious days by his sons and his only brother, John, and sister in law, Lynn, all whom had the chance to remind him they love him.
Malcolm was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on June 13, 1935. He spent his childhood as a student, sailor, hockey player, lacrosse player and a boxer in Darien, Connecticut. He graduated Darien High School and went on to Dartmouth College as a Naval ROTC candidate where he played lacrosse, sang in the Glee Club and was a member of the DOC. He immediately thereafter received his MBA from Amos Tuck School of Business in 1957.
Malcolm met his wife, Mary Elizabeth Quayle, while visiting Smith College. They were married in August 1959. Together they moved seven times during his 30-plus-year career with IBM, from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, to Ponte Vedra, back to Connecticut, to Paris, France, back to Connecticut. During that time, they sailed most seas of the world, rode horses, skied throughout the U.S. and Europe, and went to interesting places by interesting means with their friends. For many years after their six-year stint living next-door to Maurice Chevalier, they had a ritual of celebrating Bastille Day back in the U.S. with their expat buddies by dressing up in French Gendarme hats and drinking French wine.
Malcolm was a great father to his sons, Malcolm, Scott and James. He took them skiing very early in Valley Forge Park; lighted and ventured onto the ice to plow the Wilton House pond for continuous neighborhood night hockey; was a Scout Father; built boat models and pine derby cars; cheered baseball, football and hockey matches; and participated in parents’ college weekend drinking games. He was also the somewhat reluctant observer over a large menagerie of animals that Betsy brought home—from cats and dogs to hamsters, snapping turtles, a guinea pig, foxes, a couple of squirrel monkeys, a pig and, of course, horses—with fun names like Kitsmueller, Dirtball, Gege, Monkey, Face, Bucky, Once, Hugh, Ubiaco, Flip, Danny Meadow Mouse, B.Wang, Pencil Geek, Pie, Otis, Bezee, Pete and Mildred.
Malcolm rose to senior executive positions at IBM over his 25-plus years there. He was the southeast branch manager based in Jacksonville, Florida, and assistant to senior vice president and future CEO Frank T. Cary in Armonk, New York, before moving to Paris, France, as director product line - Europe, Middle East/Africa, and then back to New York City as industry director. He subsequently left IBM to be CEO at LOGISYS, a new joint venture logistics company funded by CSX and American Airlines. Upon his retirement, Malcolm and Betsy moved back to Ponte Vedra, Florida, to be with the great friends they met there in the 1960s and all their northern friends that too were charmed by the people and place.
Malcolm is survived by his sons, Malcolm W. Robinson III, of Fairfield, Connecticut; John Scott Robinson, of Ayer, Massachusetts; and James Quayle Robinson, of Palm City, Florida; and his seven grandchildren, Chelsea Smith, Olivia Quayle Robinson, Sydney Elisabeth Robinson, Claudia Gillett Robinson, Casey Jane Robinson, Matthew Scott Robinson and Caroline June Robinson.
A graveside ceremony was conducted Saturday, April 21, at Ponte Vedra Valley Cemetery & Funeral Home. A family and friends reunion celebrating his life will be held in Connecticut in July. Please sign the online guestbook at www.pontevedravalley.com.
