Obituaries

Robins, Michael L. (Mickey), Born on August 23, 1930, our Mickey left his beloved wife Judy and the rest of his family after a valiant battle against pancreatic cancer on September 8, 2017. Mickey’s generosity of spirit was matched by his love for his family, and that love motivated everything he did in life. His loss leaves a hole in our hearts that can only partially be filled with rich memories. Mickey lived a unique and storied life. Having graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Minnesota Law School, Mickey was a true renaissance man, with unparalleled mind and memory, and a never ending thirst for finding and following new passions. Mickey’s gift of gab was legendary. He could talk forever. He knew a lot about a lot, and he loved to share his wisdom and advice. He was a ferocious advocate and a brilliant businessman who had boundless zeal for every new interest. Mickey’s favorite expression was “the difficult we do right away, the impossible takes a little longer.” He was a remarkable man who spent 87 years enthusiastically accomplishing both the difficult and the impossible. That included twice surviving heart surgery against long odds and repeatedly beating bladder cancer. While he was a miracle of modern medicine for decades, Mickey’s unwavering tenacity was the real miracle that kept him with us. Mickey is survived by Judy, his beloved wife of 63 years, his children Cindy Robins (Mike Macartney), Lynda (Alan) Goldman, grandchildren Joe, Jacquelyn, and Matt, nephew Rabbi Howard (Debby) Jacoby Ruben, niece Gayle (Johnny) Javanifard, cherished grand-nieces and nephews Sarah (Dave), Daniel (Deborah), Naomi, Maya, Malkah, great grand-niece Selah Meital, along with numerous cousins and friends in his native Minnesota and in California, which became the family patriarch’s home in 1971.The family requests that contributions in celebration of Mickey’s life be made to the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) or University Synagogue (www.unisyn.org).