Terry’s wife, Vivian, sent the following obituary.
“Carl Terrell (Terry) Robinson, beloved husband, father, brother and friend died Thursday, September 8, 2011, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at home surrounded by his family.
“Born in Rye, New York, he graduated from Rye High School in 1965. He received his AB in Political Science from Dartmouth College, 1969 and his MBA in Marketing and Finance from Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth, 1972.
“Terry was a radio industry visionary who first caught the entrepreneurial bug while studying at his beloved Dartmouth. After helping Miller Brewing Company become the 2nd largest brewer, Terry founded Sunbelt Communications Ltd with fellow Dartmouth and Tuck classmate Bill Moyes. He later went on to found Transtar Radio Network which pioneered the use of satellites to distribute national long form radio programming. Transtar later merged with other stations to become Unistar and was the second largest network worldwide. During his 20 year radio career, Terry owned 35 radio stations throughout several states.
“In addition to his business accomplishments, Terry was an All American swimmer who still has some unchallenged records at Dartmouth College. He competed in the Olympic Trials in both 1968 and 1972. He later won U.S. Masters Swimming throughout the 1980’s. Always the sportsman, Terry enjoyed playing golf and being a member of the 19th Hole Society.
“Terry had a deep passion for music and an encyclopedic memory of songs from the 50’s and 60’s. He was often a guest member of Flash Cadillac, bringing down the house with his performances of his favorite Elvis songs and other classics.
“Terry had a keen insight into politics and loved debating current issues. He had a strong belief in common sense government and fought for civility in the political arena. Terry was also an avid World War II historian, amassing volumes of knowledge on the subject.
“He is survived by his wife, Vivian Cobb Robinson, his children, Matthew, Patrick and Maggie Robinson, his step-children, Stephanie and Ben Gardner and Chris Ionescu-Cobb, his three sisters, Debbie Adams, Karen Madison and Kim Robinson, numerous adoring nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces and many, many devoted friends.”
His Tuck classmates added some details about his service October 8 in Colorado Springs. It was attended by many of his friends, including ’69s Pete Lawrence, Ted Solheim, Sandy Alderson, and Andy McLane. “True to Terry’s nature, the event was entitled Celebrating Life, Love and Rock & Roll, and was filled with music and stories about Terry’s escapades.”
Bill Stableford visited Terry shortly before he died and sent the following report to his classmates.
“For those of you who saw Sandy Alderson’s e-mail last week about Terry, you know that he was diagnosed with end stage colorectal cancer just a short time ago. He recently underwent major abdominal surgery, and is currently under home Hospice care.
“By pure coincidence, that e-mail arrived two days before a planned trip to Boulder, Colorado to visit my sons and grandchildren. Since I wanted to see Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs anyway, I was able to reach Terry’s wife and arrange for a short visit on Tuesday, Sept 6.
“I found Terry in bed, with an IV tube, but alert and sharp. He tired after about twenty minutes, so it was a short visit.
“We chatted about times past while we were all on campus, as well as our many reunions, with mention of course of Flash Cadillac. I also told him about our recent mini-reunion in NYC courtesy of Sandy, and we talked about many classmates.
“He is still the same old Terry, well aware of his condition and its eventual outcome, but able to laugh and carry on. He is fighting the good fight.
“I asked him if there were anything that he would like me to pass along to the Class, and he wants everyone to know how deeply touched and appreciative he is by the personal outreaches that so many of you have made to him, either personally or through the CaringBridge web site. It means the world to him.
“Terry is one of our classmates who, because of his generosity and willingness to bring Flash Cadillac to our Reunions, is all but legendary. I mentioned this to him and he was most gracious. For those of you who witnessed his performances at Reunions, you know how much he enjoyed being up on the stage —’Devil With the Green Dress On!’
“As with all of our other classmates who have passed on, I know that we will all miss Terry. A one of a kind guy.”
These classmate obituary pages are our attempt to honor and remember classmates who have passed away. We have attempted to find and share a public obituary and have added some photos and classmate comments. In some cases we have not been able to find an obituary. If you know of an obituary where one is missing, please let us know. If you have a remembrance you think is important to share, please let us know. Comments can be submitted through the Contact Us form on this web site.