Berol Robinson

Berol Robinson was born in Detroit, MI on June 25, 1924. He was the son of Charles Robinson and Ethel Mallin. He died peacefully at home on July 7, 2023 surrounded by his children in Brookline, MA.

He leaves behind his children, David, Judith Levine (Daniel) and Joanne (Alan Adamsky), his grandchildren, Ben (Laurie), Hephzibah (late), Keziah, Hannah, Nathaniel (Ali), Sarah Levine Woodard (Chadwick), Amy Levine (Jamie Schuster), Rachel Adamsky, Naomi Adamsky and his great-granddaughters Chaya, Ziva and Ada.

He was married for 72 years to Shirley Richie of Detroit MI, who died in 2020. They lived in Baltimore, MD, Fayetteville, AR, Cleveland, OH, Brookline, MA and then in Paris, France before returning to the Boston area in 2008.

His brother Bud (Phyllis) Robinson and his sister Davida Gale (Jack) predeceased him as well as many of his friends.

Berol Robinson was a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Force during the war years (1943-46). He was trained to be a radar repair officer but was never deployed overseas.

He was Harvard Class of ‘48 and earned his Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics at Johns Hopkins University in 1953. He taught at the University of Arkansas and Western Reserve University with visiting appointments at Brookhaven, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as a year at M.I.T. and a year directing the US Metric Study in Education. In 1961-62 the family spent a memorable sabbatical year abroad in Israel, traveling across Europe both summers.

From 1971-86 he worked for UNESCO in Paris where he served as a senior science and science education officer, supervising projects in South America, Africa, and the Middle and Near East.

In retirement he was an active environmentalist and a founding member and past president of the Association of Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy. He was one of the first proud owners in France to drive a Gen-1 Toyota Prius.

His children remember visits to his lab, outings to the hardware store, road trips, car rallies, family events, anti-war rallies, and day sailing with his colleagues.  He enjoyed his many yearly visits to Israel to serve in the Israeli military’s volunteer program.

He rarely reminisced, but when asked about a specific subject, he did so at great length. He had a phenomenal memory. Berol was a good host. He loved his family, he loved driving, and he loved a good meal.

Berol Robinson lived a good life.

Donations in Berol Robinson’s memory may be made to:

Doctors Without Borders

P.O. Box 5030

Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030

Brookline Senior Center
93 Winchester Street
Brookline, MA 02446