Elizabeth Seligmann Robinson
On June 5th Elizabeth Seligmann Robinson, age 101, passed away with family and loving friends surrounding her. Born on December 9, 1919, in Seguin, Texas to Fred Seligmann and Blanch Armer Seligmann. She danced, she modeled, she retailed, she ranched, and she roamed. She is survived by her great-nephews Larry Seligmann and his wife Tatiana Seligmann, Scott Seligmann and family, and nephews Tom and Robert Seligmann and their families. She is also survived by her loving and devoted friends Ann Budd, Marsha Johnson, Sharon Smith, Carol Carpenter, Sharon Steinberg. Aloha and Shalom. Elizabeth will be placed at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery with her husband. Elizabeth Robinson has lived three lifetimes as a dancer, a fashion buyer and a rancher. She even had time to travel the world, twice. As a child Elizabeth went to the movies a lot and would see Broadway musical movies, that’s why she decided that she was going to be a dancer when she grew up. She talked an uncle into giving her money to go to New York over the summer, and got her first job as a professional dancer at just 15. Her mother wanted her to come home and go back to school, but she refused. She worked for the next few years at different nightclubs in the city performing in multiple shows. She was instrumental in developing a union for nightclub performers. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Robinson said her mother was worried New York was going to be attacked too, so they left. They ended up in San Antonio, where Fort Sam Houston had a civilian motor corps for women. “ I had no education. I couldn’t type. I couldn’t do anything but dance.” She joined the corps driving a munitions truck, and eventually got promoted to drive a mail truck, but she quit when she was reprimanded about allowing an elderly African-American man ride in the front seat with her. She said she was called in the headquarters and was asked about what somebody saw. “I said, “Yes sir, that’s right.” He said “Well, if you do it again you’re going to get fired.” I said, “ You know what? I quit.” And I did.” After a stay in New Orleans, Ms. Robinson and her mother went back to New York, where she started dancing in clubs again. In 1944, she got a job with a USO show that was going overseas. The troupe traveled on an overloaded cruise ship. “We got on the USS Monterey,” Ms. Robinson said, “ It had been a cruise ship and was built for like 500 people, and there was like 5,000 of us on there. The staterooms were supposed to have two people in them; we had 20 girls in our stateroom. It took six weeks to get overseas.” Her first stop was in New Guinea. According to a map Ms. Robinson saved, the USO performed 293,000 shows in front of 161 million attendees. The troupes perfomed throughout the Pacific, Europe, Northern Africa, South America, Greenland, Iceland, China and Australia. Over the next three and a half years, she made several more overseas trips with the USO and one with the Occupation Army. Ms. Robinson returned to the states in 1947 and married a fellow entertainer. After 15 years, she had it with show business, so she became a runway model for a big designer. “And I made twice as much money as I ever did dancing, killing myself in the jungles.” In 1959, she became fascinated with the retail business and attended executive training school at Bloomingdale’s New York. She worked for three more years in New York, and then took a job in Houston as a buyer. Then after 30 years in the retail business, she started ranching with her second husband. They moved to Sequin in 1971, and he died in 1976. “I stayed in the country with three horses, a donkey, four sheep, a goat, five cats, four dogs, peafowls, ducks, carp, on about 14 acres,” she said. “One day I was 65, I said to myself, I’m tired of looking at the back end of a horse, and sold out. I roamed the world and then I got old.” During her roaming, she went to Europe, Germany, Australia, Italy, France, Thailand and Poland. She also traveled to Czestochowa, Hungary, Romania and Czech Republic. She stopped traveling sometime after 2004 and moved back to Sequin and into Eden Cross because she liked the apartments. “The only thing I ever really wanted was a family and never had one. I think that’s because my (first) husband and I were on the Island of Bikini” where atomic testing had taken place. “I’ve had a good life. I can’t complain,” she said. “I’ve never been rich. I’ve always worked, and I think you should work in life as long as you can. The less you do, the less you’re going to do.” GRAVESIDE TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021 1:15 PM FT. SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY 1520 HARRY WURZBACH, 78209 Services will start prompty and only last for 30 minutes.Obituary
On June 5th Elizabeth Seligmann Robinson, age 101, passed away with family and loving friends surrounding her. Born on December 9, 1919, in Seguin, Texas to Fred Seligmann and Blanch Armer Seligmann. She danced, she modeled, she retailed, she ranched, and she roamed. She is survived by her great-nephews Larry Seligmann and his wife Tatiana Seligmann, Scott Seligmann and family, and nephews Tom and Robert Seligmann and their families. She is also survived by her loving and devoted friends Ann Budd, Marsha Johnson, Sharon Smith, Carol Carpenter, Sharon Steinberg. Aloha and Shalom. Elizabeth will be placed at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery with her husband. Elizabeth Robinson has lived three lifetimes as a dancer, a fashion buyer and a rancher. She even had time to travel the world, twice. As a child Elizabeth went to the movies a lot and would see Broadway musical movies, that’s why she decided that she was going to be a dancer when she grew up. She talked an uncle into giving her money to go to New York over the summer, and got her first job as a professional dancer at just 15. Her mother wanted her to come home and go back to school, but she refused. She worked for the next few years at different nightclubs in the city performing in multiple shows. She was instrumental in developing a union for nightclub performers. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Robinson said her mother was worried New York was going to be attacked too, so they left. They ended up in San Antonio, where Fort Sam Houston had a civilian motor corps for women. “ I had no education. I couldn’t type. I couldn’t do anything but dance.” She joined the corps driving a munitions truck, and eventually got promoted to drive a mail truck, but she quit when she was reprimanded about allowing an elderly African-American man ride in the front seat with her. She said she was called in the headquarters and was asked about what somebody saw. “I said, “Yes sir, that’s right.” He said “Well, if you do it again you’re going to get fired.” I said, “ You know what? I quit.” And I did.” After a stay in New Orleans, Ms. Robinson and her mother went back to New York, where she started dancing in clubs again. In 1944, she got a job with a USO show that was going overseas. The troupe traveled on an overloaded cruise ship. “We got on the USS Monterey,” Ms. Robinson said, “ It had been a cruise ship and was built for like 500 people, and there was like 5,000 of us on there. The staterooms were supposed to have two people in them; we had 20 girls in our stateroom. It took six weeks to get overseas.” Her first stop was in New Guinea. According to a map Ms. Robinson saved, the USO performed 293,000 shows in front of 161 million attendees. The troupes perfomed throughout the Pacific, Europe, Northern Africa, South America, Greenland, Iceland, China and Australia. Over the next three and a half years, she made several more overseas trips with the USO and one with the Occupation Army. Ms. Robinson returned to the states in 1947 and married a fellow entertainer. After 15 years, she had it with show business, so she became a runway model for a big designer. “And I made twice as much money as I ever did dancing, killing myself in the jungles.” In 1959, she became fascinated with the retail business and attended executive training school at Bloomingdale’s New York. She worked for three more years in New York, and then took a job in Houston as a buyer. Then after 30 years in the retail business, she started ranching with her second husband. They moved to Sequin in 1971, and he died in 1976. “I stayed in the country with three horses, a donkey, four sheep, a goat, five cats, four dogs, peafowls, ducks, carp, on about 14 acres,” she said. “One day I was 65, I said to myself, I’m tired of looking at the back end of a horse, and sold out. I roamed the world and then I got old.” During her roaming, she went to Europe, Germany, Australia, Italy, France, Thailand and Poland. She also traveled to Czestochowa, Hungary, Romania and Czech Republic. She stopped traveling sometime after 2004 and moved back to Sequin and into Eden Cross because she liked the apartments. “The only thing I ever really wanted was a family and never had one. I think that’s because my (first) husband and I were on the Island of Bikini” where atomic testing had taken place. “I’ve had a good life. I can’t complain,” she said. “I’ve never been rich. I’ve always worked, and I think you should work in life as long as you can. The less you do, the less you’re going to do.” GRAVESIDE TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021 1:15 PM FT. SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY 1520 HARRY WURZBACH, 78209 Services will start prompty and only last for 30 minutes.