Mary H. Robinson, well-known Douglas resident, died July 21, 2009 in Phoenix, two months after her 100th birthday celebration.

Mary was born in Cananea, Sonora on May 11, 1909. Her parents were a U.S. mining engineer, Frank E. Hickox, and his wife, born Angelina Romero Tato. In 1912, the violence of the Mexican Revolution forced the family to move to Douglas, where Mary’s sisters, twins Refugio and Esperanza, died in 1913. Mary and her remaining sister, Amanda, attended Washington (Seventh Street) School, which was in the same block as today’s Sarah Marley School.

Mary, with her parents’ encouragement, excelled in school, and finished high school in three years. In 1926, she was the first Douglas High School Valedictorian of Hispanic heritage.

Mary worked for a year before attending Tempe Normal School (now Arizona State University). In 1929, she began her teaching career in Washington School. She soon created a bilingual program, and taught English to hundreds of students. Even decades later, former students wrote her letters or talked with her when they saw her and also visited her home.

Mary’s teaching job introduced her to Eugene “Gene” C. Robinson, a widower with three children. He was a construction engineer with Phelps Dodge Corp. Mary became his third wife in 1934, and she raised Gene’s sons, Eugene C. Jr. and Stewart P., as her own.

After several deaths in her family, Mary returned to teaching in the Douglas school system. Her last teaching job was Spanish Class No. 1 in the l2th Street Junior High (now Borane Middle School). Classes consisted of approximately 50 students who ranged in age from 12 to 19, and were either newly-arrived from Mexico or new residents of the U.S. The class was a crash program designed to enable students to express themselves well enough in English that, after three months, they could enter high school.

Mary taught school in Paul Spur, and taught many people English and Spanish in her home. In addition to English and Spanish, Mary was fluent in French and could speak Portuguese.

In 1972, the Cochise County Education Council named Mary Outstanding Educator of the Year. She retired from the Douglas school system the next year, and in 1974 was named Douglas Lady of the Year by Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.

In retirement, Mary traveled extensively, and became involved in a number of activities. She was a board member of the Douglas Community School, and a member of the National Retired Teachers Association, Arizona and Cochise County Retired Teachers Association, and the Huachuca Writers Club. The latter group,  led by Walden and Phyllis Heald, assisted Mary’s development as a writer of numerous published freelance magazine articles.

She also served on the board of directors of Southeast Arizona Medical Center, helped found the Douglas Area Food Bank and served on its board, raised funds for the Bishop’s Relief Fund, and was deeply involved with former Douglas Mayor Joe Causey in an effort to revitalize Douglas following blows to the local economy in the 1980s.

Mary also was a member of the Gray Ladies, a group that supported the Red Cross, and was a long time member of the Southeast Arizona Medical Center Auxiliary.

Many of the ways Mary contributed to the well-being of Douglas and its residents can’t be quantified. That’s because she helped many people on a one-on-one basis, dispensing advice or other assistance in her living room. Additionally, Mary never sought recognition. Indeed, she shunned it, believing that the value of a good deed is diminished if it’s publicized There are many people who have been aided by Mary Hickox Robinson in some way, and they are the only ones who know the true amount of her achievements in the Douglas community.

Mary was preceded in death by husband, “Gene,” and by stepson, “Gene.” She is survived by her stepson, Stewart P. Robinson, Phoenix;  nephew, John M. Ruterman, Sierra Vista; niece, Johanna R. Dessente, and great-niece, Amanda, who live in Belgium.

A memorial mass will be held Aug. 7 at 10:30 a.m. in Douglas’ Immaculate Conception Church with Father Antonio Ruiz.officiating. A celebration of her life will follow in the Douglas Visitor’s Center, where there will be a display of her life and achievements. Mary’s cremains will be buried in Cavalry Cemetery, Douglas.

Mary’s friends are asked to write down their memories of her and bring them to the celebration of life, so they can be given to family members. Donations in her memory should be sent to The Douglas Food Bank or Southeast Arizona Medical Center Auxiliary.