There were tears and there was uproarious laughter on Saturday, June 28, as over 200 friends and family members packed the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme, NH to celebrate the life of Paul Robbins. It was a fitting tribute to a man who brought so much joy in his 68 years to everyone around him.
It was a warm, muggy afternoon in a peaceful mountain setting along the Appalachian Trail, just across the Connecticut River from Paul’s home state of Vermont. The towering, church-like wooden beams of the McLane Family Lodge were a perfect setting for a final tribute to the journalist from New Jersey who packed several lifetimes of excitement into his short years.
A bigger-than-life-sized photo of Paul stood next to the podium - the classic shot photographer Jonathan Selkowitz captured a year earlier at the Deer Valley Freestyle World Cup. Paul’s ashes rested inside a Dunkin Donuts box atop a chair. The room was decorated with flowers from friends around the world, including beautiful fresh Hawaiian flowers flown in by former U.S. Ski Team athlete Doug Petersen and his family. And each of the Robbins’ family members wore a beautiful lei.
Robbins grew up in New Jersey, but eventually made New England his home. His career included a stint at UPI in Boston followed by several years as a public relations director for Sheraton Hotels out of Hawaii. During his early career he worked with many great entertainers of the time including Harry Chapin, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Liza Minelli and more. But he found his real passion as both a travel writer and a correspondent for the U.S. Ski Team, becoming a fixture at Olympics and World Cups for nearly 30 years.
Olympian Jeff Hastings spoke of the early days (early ’80s) with Paul and he ingratiated himself with the athletes with his humor, wit and genuine interest in writing about their accomplishments. Brother John Robbins of Pasadena, CA, who carries many of the same comedy genes as Paul, regaled the crowd with stories of Paul’s youth and the long-distance relationship he shared with “Robbins West.” Former wife Ellyn Cole, wearing a Red Sox championship hat Paul had sent her last fall, chronicled the “music years” with funny stories of how Paul was as connected to famous entertainers as he was today with world class athletes. Paul was the “goodest man,” she said.
Best friend Peter Graves, who along with Tom Kelly introduced Paul to skiing in 1978, recounted the veritable catalog of ways everyone loved Paul from his zany antics to his unusual proclivities. Local friend Carl Wyman, who coached softball with Paul, brought out one of Paul’s favorite passions of baseball with the reading of “Casey at Bat.” Son David (”DC”) talked of a loving father who introduced him to one of his own passions. The young Robbins, who wore a shirt from a long-ago Paul birthday party that said: “I’m Paul”, today works on productions of action sports television, including most of the U.S. Ski Team television broadcasts.
Among the many guests was longtime U.S. Ski Team coach and ABC/ESPN commentator Bob Beattie of Aspen, CO. Beattie sprung to the podium after hearing the wonderful comments of Paul’s former wife. “I can tell you this, none of my past wives would have such nice things to say about me! This is a wonderful tribute.”
Many other friends and family spoke. But Paul’s best friend and neighbor John Philpin really brought the house down. He spoke about meeting Paul many years ago as a new neighbor. Ever suspicious, Philpin saw that his new acquaintance was always traveling and that the car had Hawaii plates. it was all so strange. Scratching his footlong white beard, Philpin calmly said, “But I knew what he really did. He was CIA!”
Wonderful music was provided by bagpiper Gary Matthews, along with singer Mardi Sargent of Bennington, VT and accompanist Rolf Gidlow of the Burke Mountain Academy.
Paul’s wife of 18 years, Kathe, closed the service by thanking the crowd. “You know, I don’t know who many of you are,” she laughed. “But I so appreciate your being here.”
Notes
Special Thanks
The family would like to thank everyone who attended the Paul Robbins Celebration from around the country, and the hundreds of others who have sent their condolences. Thanks to Bill Marolt of the U.S. Ski Team and Gary Black of Ski Racing Magazine for supporting the production of the service.
Thanks to Mardi Sargent, Rolf Gidlow and Gary Matthews for music, Tami Dowd and Jamie of Dowd’s Country Inn for catering, Morgan Perrone for flowers, Doug Petersen and family for the wonderful Hawaiian flowers, and Tom Kelly, Peter Graves and Cami Thompson for production of the event.
And a very special thanks to both U.S. Ski Team trustee Andy McLane and Peter Riess of the Dartmouth Skiway for their generosity in the use of the McLane Family Lodge. It was the perfect venue to remember Paul.
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