The world just lost a gentle soul.
Robin Hope Schmidt was born on May 1, 1950 in Newport News, Virginia. She spent her elementary school years in Detroit, Michigan. Her family moved several times and later settled in Bloomfield, Indiana where she graduated from Bloomfield High School. As a child, she spent many happy summers in northern Minnesota with her beloved grandmother and family at a cabin on Clear Lake, Glen, Minnesota. She went to college in Indiana and received a B.S. from Indiana State University in Life Sciences. She later went to a cytology school in upstate New York. In Madison, she received a M.S. in Water Resources Management at UW-Madison.
Robin worked several different jobs in Madison – WPS Health Insurance Company, UW-Madison, Land’s End, The Guild, and the Artful Home. She also did a stint as an ESL teacher in Merida, Mexico. Her last job was in the UW Department of Afro-American Studies as the Student Services Coordinator from September 2008 to January 2019, when she retired. She always had a warm welcoming smile for everyone. As one close friend said “Spending time with her was like having a butterfly land on your hand — so gentle, yet amusing — never making any waves.”
Robin was an adventurous traveler – Mexico (she especially loved Isla Mujeres), Canada, Europe, South America, and all over the US. She was a lover of music, dinner or happy hour with her friends, and dancing. She had an artistic eye for detail in her photography, jewelry, and stained glass. “She was such a kind, fun, unique person and I so appreciated knowing she was out there coloring the world with her creative spirit,” said a friend. Robin loved nature and animals. She really loved her cats; especially tiny Frida; big, orange Cooper; and her current cat, sweetie Lottie.
Robin, age 71, passed away peacefully from heart failure on the evening of Friday, May 14, 2021 at Agrace Hospice in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. She is survived by her sister, Paula Schmidt-Ginn; niece, Marguerite Ginn; and nephew, Phillip Ginn. She will be greatly missed by many friends from around the world.
