Ernest Warren Robinson 1886-1970

ROBINSON, WISSWELL, DOHL, WILLSON, BERGMAN, DENNY, GREIG

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 12/4/2010 at 22:03:20

Former Soo Valley Co Head Dies of Heart Attack

Ernest W. Robinson, 83, died suddenly Wednesday [April 22, 1970] afternoon at this home here following a heart attack. Formerly president of the Soo Valley Company in Estherville, Mr. Robinson retired in1956.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Fuhrman Funeral Home, with the Rev. H. Allen Wirtz officiating. Interment will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Friends may call at the funeral home anytime Friday and until the time of services. A Masonic service will be held at 8:00 p.m. Friday at the Fuhrman Funeral Home.

Mr. Robinson is survived by his wife, Malinda; a son, Paul, of Lancaster, Calif.; five daughters, Mrs. Leland (Elizabeth) Willson of Hartford, Conn., Priscilla Robinson of Hartford, Mrs. Fred (Joan) Bergman of Kalamazoo, Mich., Mrs. William (Rebecca) Denny of Minneapolis, and Mrs. Hugh (Janice) Greig of Estherville. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and one brother, Russell, of Dundee, Fla.

Preceding Mr. Robinson in death were his first wife; one son, Ernest Warren Robinson, Jr.; one granddaughter, Patricia Robinson; one brother; and two sisters.

Born Oct. 21, 1886, in Brentwood, New Hampshire, Mr. Robinson graduated from high school in Haverhill, Mass., and from Lowell Technical Institute at Lowell. He was married to Millicent Wisswell, who died while the couple lived in Maine. On July 22, 1933, he was married to Malinda Dohl at Roselle, Ill.

Mr. Robinson was first employed as a chemist and boss dyer with Rock Manufacturing Company of Rockville, Conn., later being associated with the Belding Thread Company in Pawtucket, R.I., for three years. He later organized the silk thread division of J. and P. Coats Co. and was superintendent of its silk department from 1928 to 1931. Following this he was superintendent at Collingbourne Mills in Elgin, Ill.

Mr. Robinson then began an association with the Shakespeare Co. as manager of its silk line division at Kalamazoo, Mich. In 1946 he incorporated the Soo Valley Company, pioneer manufacturers of nylon fishing line. The company ceased operations in Estherville in 1956, moving to Columbia, S.C.

Active in community affairs, Mr. Robinson served for nine years on the Estherville School board, being president for seven years, was a member of the Izaak Walton League, and was a past president of both Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He served for 15 years on the Estherville Plan Commission and was a member of the Emmet County Historical Society and of the American Textile Association.

Mr. Robinson was a member of the Presbyterian Church where he served as an elder. He was the recipient of a 50-year pin in the Masonic Lodge and was an honorary life member in the Masonic Lodge at Rockville, Conn. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, April 23, 1970)