Eileen Walker (Sibley) Robinson died on June 14. She was 96.

Eileen was born at the “Little Cottage Hospital” in Oak Bluffs on March 28, 1929. She grew up on Cottage Street in Edgartown with her parents, Lucretia and Luther Sibley, along with her older brother Neil.

She graduated from the Edgartown schools and went on to attend the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Boston. She met her future husband of 65 years, Rupert H. Robinson, at the wedding of Rupe’s cousin, who was a schoolmate of “Eilee”.

The Robinson wedding in 1948 was the first wedding reception ever hosted at the Harbor View Hotel, which was started by Eileen’s grandfather and passed on to her mother Lucretia and Uncle Raymond Walker.

Family life began in Northboro, in 1950 and continued in Holden beginning in 1959 until they became empty nesters. They sold their home in 1996 and relocated to the Oak Bluffs MVCMA campground cottage that Eileen’s aunt and uncle bought in the 1940s and bequeathed to her.

Wherever Eileen lived, she wholeheartedly became a part of the community through her involvement in local programs. She led boys and girls scout troops, volunteered at Heifer Project International, sang in church choirs, served on church committees, assisted in community fundraisers, supported the arts and joined the Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Club, where she served a term as president.

Faith was important to Eileen. As a youth, she was a member of the Federated Church of Edgartown and was married there. She raised her family in the First Congregational Church of Holden and joined the Campground Methodist Church when she and Rupe retired to Oak Bluffs.

Travel was high on her list of recreational activities, especially camping, which took her to the four corners of the United States, including Alaska and many Northern Canadian provinces. The adventures began with a pop-up tent trailer and eventually moved on to an RV in which they spent several winter seasons in Florida.

There were trips to Brazil, St. Lucia, Bermuda, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK. Eileen loved wherever she was yet was always happy to get home too. Some of her special family times were either on the Vineyard or at “the camp” on Webster Lake, where the family vacationed in the summer with grandparents.

She had many interests, including playing cards with friends, going square dancing with Rupe, knitting with the local ladies, skiing with the family, puttering in her garden, reading and, of course, going to the beach.

Into her 90s, Eileen continued to share the Vineyard with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Everyone loved visiting her at “the cottage” and hearing stories of growing up on the Island. When her health changed, she adapted to living on the mainland, splitting time with two of her daughters. She returned to her home in the summers until she moved into an assisted living residence at Cornerstone in Milford.

Her words of wisdom, “be good to each other”, “love each other and country”, “set a good example,” are words she truly lived by. Eileen was a kind, caring, gracious lady of the Island whose spirit will live on in ocean waves and grains of sand.

Her husband Rupert preceded her in death. She is survived by four children, R. Dana Robinson (Eunice), Jennifer S. Robinson (Ashow), Betsy R. Berringer (Tim deceased), Anne W. Bena (Tom); nine grandchildren Naomi, Bethany, Justin, Kyle, Emily, Trevor, Molly, Zach, Pennylane: and thirteen great grandchildren Caden, Michael, Marilyn, Arianna, Brielle, Ollen, Anaiah, Jack, Avery, Milo, Scarlett, Charles, and Audrey.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to: Martha’s Vineyard Hospice, Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, United Methodist Church of Martha’s Vineyard.

A celebration of life will be held on the Island in the fall.