Barclay Robinson Jr., of Stonington and Castine, Maine, born Nov. 28, 1934, in Hartford, died on Nov. 14, 2005, in Stonington.
Mr. Robinson grew up in Avon, attending local schools before being shipped off to the Pomfret School, class of 1952. After graduating from Yale College in 1956, he worked on the Western Pacific and Rock Island Railroads for a year and then served three years in the U.S. Navy in the North Atlantic as a lieutenant j.g. After the Navy, he attended Yale Law School, receiving his law degree in 1963. He spent his entire professional career at the law firm Robinson & Cole in Hartford, retiring in 2000, the last of eight Robinsons who served the firm continuously since 1845. He then moved to Stonington, where he lived fully until his death.
Mr. Robinson was very active throughout his life in many scholastic and civic avocations. He was a member of the Pomfret School Board of Trustees from 1963 until his death, serving as the head for 10 years. He was a trustee of Ethel Walker School in Simsbury for many years; was chairman of the Castine Golf Club; a trustee of the Stonington Free Library; the McManus Trust of Hartford, and the Southeastern Connecticut Council on Foreign Relations. He was a former board member of the Hartford Conservatory and the Seabury Retirement Community in Bloomfield.
He maintained a lifelong passion, some called it an obsession, for railroading, particularly steam locomotives. He devoted many hours to chasing, riding, and photographing trains all over the world, and in recent years developed and exhibited many of his best photographs. He loved all sports, particularly endurance sports such as running, rowing, and bicycling, completing 12 marathons in his lifetime. He loved touch football and family water fights and spent many hours kayaking and sailing in the waters off Connecticut and his beloved Castine, Maine.
He is survived by his wife, Katharine; his sister, Betsy Taylor; his son, Timothy and daughter-in-law, Merritt; his twin daughters, Anne and Elizabeth; his son-in-law, Michael; his three grandchildren, Harrison, Maxwell, and Luke; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2005, at United Church, Main St., Stonington.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Stonington Free Library, PO Box 232, Stonington CT 06378.
Directions to the United Church of Stonington
67 Main street
Stonington
(860)535-0879
Going North on route 95, take exit 91.
Go right at light at end of the ramp for ΒΌ of a mile.
Turn left onto North Main Street and go about a mile to a light.
Cross over route 1 and continue to next stop sign.
Go left to another stop sign and then go right over the railroad bridge.
Road veers to the left , then take the first left by the post office to stop sign.
Go right onto Main Street.
United Church is on your left.