Bettye Lou Sumner Robinson Obituary (1924 - 2011)

“GiGi” Bettye Lou Sumner Robinson, 87 years young, our beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah, surrounded by her loving family. Bettye was born on January 23, 1924 in Bentonville, Arkansas. She was one of three girls and three boys. Her mother passed away when she was four and she spent much of her childhood being raised by her grandmother and helping raise her brothers and sisters. Bettye moved to Wichita, Kansas when she was 17 and it was there, while out dancing, that she met her true love, John R. Robinson. Bettye and Jack were married on July 30, 1948 and danced through life together for sixty years. Bettye and Jack returned to Salt Lake City and two years later started a family. They were blessed with one son, their pride and joy, Jeffrey Robinson. Bettye proudly worked at K-Mart for 34 years and after retirement regularly met with “the K-Mart crew” the first Wednesday of every month for lunch and to keep in contact and commiserate old times. Bettye loved swimming at TOSH each morning and cherished the friendships she built there. Her close friends at TOSH have described Bettye as the motivator, ring leader, and cheerleader of the swim team. They were inspired by her loving spirit, strength, willpower, and dedication, words commonly used to describe her outside of the pool as well. Bettye was a collector of memories and it thrilled her to no end to share with people her experiences, adventures, life lessons, and wisdom from a path well travelled. Mom’s trademark will always be remembered as her quick wit and sharp memory. Bettye also enjoyed singing, dancing, listening to music, reading, word games and crossword puzzles and spending time with her family, who will always be her greatest “treasures.” Bettye is survived by her devoted son, Jeff (Jan), her grandsons, Zach (Nichole) and Ryan, granddaughters, Brittany (Brian) and Bethany (Travis), and her two great granddaughters, Hannah and Haleigh, who lit up her life and will always lovingly refer to her as their “Gigi.” She is also survived by many nieces and nephews who she loved as if they were her own. She was greeted in heaven by her best friend and soul mate, Jack, her parents, and her brothers and sisters. A celebration of Bettye’s incredible life will be held on July 9, 2011 at noon (visitation from 11-12) at Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary, 4760 South State Street in Murray. The family would like to express our sincere gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and staff at Intermountain Healthcare who provided her with loving, compassionate, and supportive care throughout her lifetime and particularly at the end of her journey.