Richard Robin Obituary

[irvanellis]

From: Robert Lane
To: [Charles S. Peirce Society]
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 7:16 PM
Subject: Peirce Society: obituary for Richard Robin


Hello everyone,

An obituary for Richard Robin appeared in the Springfield (MA)
_Republican_ a few days ago. Below I've pasted in the full text as
well as a link to the online version.

Sincerely,

Robert Lane, Ph.D.
Secretary-Treasurer, Charles S. Peirce Society
Associate Professor and Director of Philosophy
Department of English and Philosophy
University of West Georgia
Carrollton, GA 30118

******************

Richard Shale Robin

Richard Shale Robin 1926-2010 SOUTH HADLEY - Richard Shale Robin,
Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Mount Holyoke College, passed away
on October 4th. He was born in Stamford, Ct. on April 18th 1926.
Richard was one of the primary advocates of the field of American
philosophy, especially American pragmatism, the kind whose roots are
traceable to the polymath Charles Sanders Peirce. Richard completed
his studies at Harvard University where he was awarded an A.B., cum
laude, 1948 and a Ph.D. in 1958. At that time Charles Sanders Peirce
was an obscure figure at best. Richard was a central figure in
bringing Peirce's achievements to the forefront of the philosophical
community. At present Peirce is arguably considered America's premier
philosopher. Richard was proud of the role he played in bringing about
this transformation. Initially he ordered the unpublished manuscripts
(approximately eighty thousand pages), which arrived a Harvard in a
chaotic state, and subsequently he wrote many books and articles.
Perhaps uppermost he edited the Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce
Society for 29 years. Together with his co-editor, Peter Hare, they
turned this Quarterly Journal from an in-house publication and built
it into one of the major philosophical journals of our time. Richard
also cofounded the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy
and used the Transactions to link the society with the Peirce Society.
Both societies as well as the journal flourish today. For his
achievement he was awarded Herbert W. Schneider Award and the Josiah
Royce Award - both for lifetime contributions to the cause of American
philosophy, capping a gratifying professional career. In addition he
was awarded the John Dewey Senior Research Fellowship, a Fulbright
Senior Lectureship at Tohoku University, Japan. He was invited to
lecture throughout the world including Russia, China, Japan, and
Korea. In addition to teaching undergraduate students he served on a
dozen or so doctoral committees. But Richard's family life was his
real focus. Richard enjoyed a long and happy marriage to Joann Cohan
Robin for nearly 46 years until her death in 2007. Richard said that
he and Joann's proudest achievements were his children, and by
extension their families. Richard is survived by his son David and
daughter Debbie; their spouses, Yasmin and Pat, and 5 grand children,
Aliya, Parker, Ethan, Kaitlynn and Jack, and Dick's sister Jane. In
addition he touched the lives of so many in the town of South Hadley
- his and Joann's home for 50 years. In lieu of flowers,
contributions can be made to charities of one's choice. RYDER FUNERAL
HOME 533-1735

Published in The Republican on October 7, 2010
http://obits.masslive.com/obituaries/masslive/obituary-print.aspx?n=richard-shale-robin&pid=145830908