Herschel M. “Pete” Robinson, 87, of Ridgewood, NJ, on Monday, August 21, 2017. He is survived by hisloving wife Judith, son John (Mary), daughter Joanne (Geoffrey), daughter Amy (Robert), granddaughter Krista (Darryl), grandsons Noah & Ethan, and doggies Clyde, Jack, Holly, Ben, & Louie. He is also survived by his sister Jacquelyn Ratledge of Norcross, Georgia, and pre-deceased by his brother Daniel of New Albany, Indiana.
He served in three of the four military branches (Army, Navy, & Air Force) and in the Korean War as a Second Lieutenant, Signal Corps. His service in the military led to his career at AT&T where he worked his entire life as a Systems Engineer.
Herschel was a man of many interests. His great passion was trains. He was a member of the NJ Live Steamers and was a past president of the club. He was a model train enthusiast and built several layouts in different gauges in and around his house. He also loved planes – he had his private pilot’s license and also built a small working plane with a club out of Lincoln Park Airport. He attended the Academy of Aeronautics at LaGuardia Airport where he received his Air Frame & Power Plant license which allowed him to work on jet engines and commercial aircraft. Growing up in New Albany, Indiana, near the Ohio River led to a love of boats. He owned several boats throughout the years including a 25’ cabin cruiser on which the whole family would take overnight trips on the Hudson River.
He also enjoyed travel. He took several coast to coast and border to border motorcycle trips with his friends. He also took several trips to Germany.
He restored a late 1960’s Volkswagen Beetle, with which he unsuccessfully tried to teach his wife how to drive a stick shift; hence, the car was sold.
His interest in photography led him to build a darkroom in the basement so he could develop black and white film himself.
He enjoyed reading and watching movies about the Great Wars, and loved British PBS shows like The Last of the Summer Wine and others.
He learned to play the banjo and joined a group (which we just can’t remember the name of!) that played at nursing homes and also in the Ridgewood 4th of July parade.
His interest in astronomy led him to purchase a pedestal telescope so he could observe the night skies, locate constellations, and witness meteor showers and eclipses very closely.
With all these varied interests, Herschel was a man of humble tastes: his favorite foods were spaghetti and meatballs, sausage pizza, and vanilla ice cream. He often claimed that there were three things that made food taste good – sugar, salt, and fat!
We were so blessed to have him in our lives and he will be truly missed.
In lieu of flowers, donations to www.woundedwarriorproject.org would be greatly appreciated.

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