Obituary of Mary E. Robinson (née Smyth)
On November 21, 2024, Mary E. Robinson (née Smyth), passed away peacefully with family by her side.
A ‘Lady’ in the truest sense of the word, Mary’s life was full of beauty, adventure and God.
Born in Barrie, Ontario on July 25th, 1934, to Kathleen and the Rev. Benjamin Smyth, Mary was independent from a young age. In her late teens her parents moved to the far North to work at a church and run a school with Inuit children in Pangnirtung, Baffin Island. Meanwhile, Mary stayed in Toronto and completed the RN program at Wellesley College.
In 1957 a persistent Rev. Tom Robinson persuaded her to go on a date (she maintained that she agreed because he offered to take her to the glamorous Granite Club). It was there that Mary recalled feeling “at home” in Tom’s arms while they danced. He asked her to marry him that night—less than a year later they were wed, ’Tom and Mary‘ were born and from that day forward they were an inseparable team. The world the two created together was magical.
The week after they married, Mary and Tom moved to England where they ran the All-Souls Clubhouse for inner city youth in London. While there, they had three children. In 1962, the young family returned home to Canada where they had two more children. Mary and Tom lived in cities across eastern Canada, working as a team in churches in Oak Ridges, Quebec City, Saint John and finally establishing City Centre Ministry in Halifax. In each community they were blessed with meaningful and enduring friendships. They added to their ministry through World Vision and visited Asia and Africa.
A particular highlight was in 1972, while on sabbatical, the family toured Europe in a VW van. In 1978, Mary and Tom purchased the only home they would ever own, a rural, historic home, in sad disrepair, in Wickham, New Brunswick alongside the St. John River—replete with a racoon in the kitchen rafters. With children and friends, the couple lovingly restored the property, and created a place of love and security for family and innumerable visitors, which endures to this day.
After Tom’s retirement, the pair moved from Halifax to Wickham permanently, and spent many happy and contented years cooking, hosting, entertaining, reading, bird watching, walking and spending time together and with those they loved.
After Tom’s passing in 2001, Mary continued to live at their home on the river. She walked, painted, fed hummingbirds, played piano and swam in the St. John River well into the fall each year (she had an impeccable dive). She continued baking into her 80s (her blueberry scones and Irish soda bread are remembered fondly), and constantly brewed and consumed cups of tea with an occasional glass of fine old sherry on the deck in the afternoon. A prolific and gifted gardener, Mary created a paradise in Wickham, which flourishes with waves of yellow daffodils in spring and masses of pink phlox in the summer. Anyone who had the privilege of spending time with her during these years will recall her warmth, wit and love of life and all things beautiful. Mary had a way of making the world feel more like home. She was the perfect companion to watch a summer rainstorm with, to assist with a difficult crossword clue or accompany on a brisk walk to the ferry. Through all this Mary continued to travel, even venturing on a walking tour of Israel in 2018.
Above all, Mary loved her God. A woman of deep faith, Mary was actively involved in the Church and, when she wasn’t busy hosting Women Alive conferences around the Maritimes, regularly played the keyboard for the small congregation of St. Peter’s Church in Wickham.
Mary is survived by her five children, Kathleen (David Nadolski predeceased), Chip (Fiona), Peter (Tiffany), Rachel (John Cassidy), and Jonathan (Nikol); 13 grandchildren, Daniel (Kayla), Jake (Hilary), Sarah, Mercy (Ian), Jack, Breah (Donnell), Tom, Willem, Simon (Bailey), Caitlin, Robinson, Ben, Sofia, and Anna; and five great grandchildren, Una, Morris, Ani, Cillian and Frances.
She is predeceased by Tom, her parents, her brother Bill Smyth, granddaughters Kathleen and Elizabeth. Along with her immediate family, Mary leaves behind her brother John Smyth (Jean), in-laws Sallie Smyth, Shirley, Stony & Katherine Robinson, Gavin Watt, and the extended Smyth, Robinson and Watt families.
Our thanks to the staff at the St. John and St. Stephen Nursing Home for their care and compassion in Mary’s last days. And particular thanks to her daughter Kate who was her primary caregiver over her last 4-5 years.
Rather than flowers, donations to the Tom & Mary Robinson Scholarship Fund, (supporting theological students at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto) or World Vision, would be appreciated.
There will be a service for Mary at Stone Church in Saint John at 1 pm on Sunday, December 15th. There will also be a celebration of life for Mary, July 27, 2025, 1 pm at her home in Wickham (MaryandTom2025@gmail.com) where she will be remembered beside the river she loved so dearly, surrounded by her glorious garden in full bloom.
