Alexandra Robbin, 71

Alexandra Robbin, formerly of Bigfork and Creston, passed away Aug. 7, 2006 in Minneapolis. She was 71.

Alexandra was born in Kalispell on Feb. 18, 1935. The daughter of Walter C. Robbin and Nita Zumwalt Robbin, her birth was attended by her uncle and longtime Kalispell physician, Dr. A.A. Dodge. At the age of 4 she moved to Bigfork with her family, where her parents operated a sweet cherry orchard near Yellow Bay and purchased the Horn and Smith mercantile, renaming it Robbin General Store.

Because Bigfork was a lively community in the 1940s, with a disposition quite different from that of today, Alexandra credited as influences upon her life, the excellence of teacher Winifred Taylor, the uniqueness of life in a small town and her experiences with nature. Anticipating a move to the family ranch at Creston, she began high school in Kalispell and completed her first year while living at Cayuse Prairie with her maternal grandmother, Minnie Reimer.

Alexandra graduated from Flathead County High School in 1953 as one of the high honor ten, and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Montana.

While residing in Sandpoint, Idaho, she taught school at Spirit Lake and commuted to graduate study at Eastern Washington State College at Cheney. Subsequent to completing a master's degree, she was an educator in the Billings school system. Later, her training in English and knowledge of grammar and writing led to editorial opportunities which she pursued professionally in Atlanta and Minneapolis. In addition to private assignments, Alexandra was employed by American Guidance Service, a publisher of text projects and educational materials.

Forever the friend to animals and champion to people disadvantaged, any memorials acknowledging Alexandra's life should be directed to providers of relief and compassion.

Preceded in death by her parents, she is survived by her brother, Rand Robbin, and wife, Linda, of Creston; niece, Marca Robbin Gibson, and husband David, and their sons, Gage and Holt, all of Helena; and niece, Tia Robbin, and husband Dan Wilson, with their daughter, Liv, all of Kalispell. Alexandra is also survived by several cousins and stepcousins.

At rest beside her grandmother in eternal companionship, interment and family reverence was conducted privately, in C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery.