Nina Ruth Robinson, 111, went to be with our Lord Tuesday, December 28, 2021.

Funeral is 1:00 p.m. Friday, December 31, 2021 at New Hope Fellowship Church in Decatur with burial at Oaklawn Cemetery. Family will receive friends 6-8 p.m. Thursday at Hawkins Funeral Home in Decatur.

Nina Ruth England Robinson was born on November 11, 1910 in Greenwood, Texas to Felix Johnson England of Dalton, Georgia and Dannie Rebecca Brewer England of Decatur, Texas. She was born right off the east side of Farm-to-Market 1204 on what is now known as the T.N. Maxwell place. Nina was the oldest of six siblings.  She had two brothers, Joseph Robert England (Wilemma) and James, a baby boy who died close to birth but whom she loved dearly. She also had three sisters, Alma Louise Allen (Jasper), Edna Marie Hill (Lomer) and Mona Fern Mann (J.W.). All of the siblings resided in Wise County most of their lives with their families and were always very close.

Nina’s father began her education by teaching his children through the Bible, books, and newspapers which seemed to influence so many aspects of her adult life. She later attended schools in both Sycamore and Brumelow and completed the 9th grade at Brumelow, which was the highest grade available at the time.  She stayed an additional year as a teacher.  When she was young she played softball and was known for always making a home run.  She and her family also enjoyed local community gatherings which may have segwayed into her writing a column for the local paper in Greenwood.  The column featured social and community happenings.  She knew all the latest. Nina was also a lifelong seamstress. As a young lady, she made dresses for others and accepted fabric in exchange, which she then used to keep her mom, sisters and herself in nice dresses.  She made suit coats for gentlemen as well and could turn a collar as nice and neat as anyone could.  She was also an avid quilter.  Her stitches were perfectly spaced and placed.  Her quilts became a testament to her love for her children, grandchildren and loved ones.  Each quilt could tell a story through the different fabrics that were worn or obtained throughout the years.  Additionally, Nina cut hair for everyone around and was an accomplished gardener and cook. 

On November 7, 1934, she married Cecil Claude Robinson in Love County, Oklahoma. They met when Claude came to visit his brother Earl who was married to Nina’s sister Alma. Nina and Claude had four children:  Harold Ray Robinson (June), Sylvia Ruth Taylor (Charles), Mona Claudine Haley (Bob) and Connie Sue Pruett - all of Decatur, Texas.

The young couple began their married life on the Rucker Place near Rush Creek north of Decatur where Harold and Sylvia were born at home.  When Sylvia was one month old the family moved to the Albert Smith Place also north of Decatur which is still home and has been to six generations now.  Claudine and Connie were both born at Darwin Hospital in Decatur. In the Fall of 1941, Nina’s Mom and sisters moved into the Albert Smith Place and the little family struck out for California in a 1939 Chevrolet sedan.  They became so homesick they moved back in the Fall of 1942.  That same sedan eventually had the seats removed periodically so that they could haul raw milk to meet the milk truck and haul feed when necessary.  The seats popped back in for the family to go to the movies or to the rodeos on Saturdays.

After her marriage, she was a homemaker, worked on the farm and dairy that she and her husband bought from the Smith Family and she eventually worked at and retired from the Denton State School where she attended to special needs children.  She and Claude farmed crops, milked cows and had vegetable gardens.  In fact, the year she was pregnant with Claudine she canned enough food for each week for a year from the garden.  At one time during World War II they operated a large-scale poultry farm.  The chicken houses were incredible - they raised and maintained 1500 chickens and sold eggs to Johnson’s Hatchery in Bowie.  She recalled selling eggs to the soldiers who trained on the nearby LBJ Grasslands as they marched through the front yard moving to the next government land location.  

She also told of many firsts.  She transitioned from horses, wagons & buggies to Model As and Model Ts.  She never received her driver’s license though and only drove in the pastures while feeding livestock.  Nina remembered poles being set and electricity being brought down through the field in front of the house as they worked.  She paid $5.00 to bring it in. She observed the beginnings of missiles being launched, men on the moon, President Kennedy’s assassination, Watergate, the cold war, the Carter/Reagan campaign, all the way through Donald Trump and the present administration.

The importance of voting was instilled in her as a child and was also shared by her husband and they passed it on.  She first voted at the age of twenty-one at the Drug Store in Greenwood.  At that time, she had to pay for the privilege and she kept the receipt. Nina rarely missed an opportunity to vote and most definitely voted in the 2020 election at 110 years old and was very certain of her candidate.

She was predeceased by her husband Claude, her son Harold, daughter-in-law - June Robinson, son-in-law Charles Taylor, daughter Claudine Haley and son-in-law Bob Haley, as well as her parents and siblings.

She is survived by her daughters, Sylvia Taylor and Connie Pruett. Her grandchildren - 

Frieda Lasater and husband Zane, Robin Stout and husband William, Danny Taylor and wife DeAnn, Elizabeth Thompson and husband Tommy Bell, Nina Tillery and husband Jace, Carrie Goble and husband John, and Preston Pruett and wife Tiffany - all of Decatur.

Her great grandchildren - Ryan Davis and wife Candice, Brittany Jones and husband Seth, Brooke Stewart and husband Stephen, Evan Davis and wife Hannah, Joseph Laremore and fiance Madi, Courtney Scarborough and husband Hayden, Morgan Gage and husband Eric, Clayton Taylor, Haden Davis, Davin Beaver, Jase Stout, Paislee Pruett, Hayes Pruett and Jayd Tillery all of Decatur.

Her step- great grandchildren:  Skylar Stout of Snyder, Avery Thibodeaux and husband Chris of Fort Worth, McKenna Stout of Denton and Hayden Goble of Greenwood; Cody Goble and wife Katie of Sanger.

Her great-great grandchildren: Taylor, Tatum & Tenlee Scarborough, Gracelyn Jo and Gatlyn Jones, Sophie and Bindi Davis, Beauden Davis, Calvin Haley, Emmaline, Laken and Madeline Stewart - all of Decatur.

She is also survived by the close family friends and neighbors that she loved like her very own.

Pallbearers - 

                       

 

Honorary Pallbearers -