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6 hours ago, lakeside7 said:

During these past few weeks I have learned of the passing of 3 friends

Gerry Berry, Marilyn Thielking and Suzanne Fprrest. All in their different ways, shared their Time Talent and Giving  made a contribution to the betterment of Lakeside

I'm so sorry to hear that each of them, especially my friend Suzanne Forrest, has passed.  Thank you for letting us know.

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I was waiting for the Guadalajara Reporter to publish the obituary that I submitted more than a month ago,but still nothing so here it goes.....My husband, Michael Robbins died on March 2 at home in his own bed under his own terms with me by his side. He had caught Hep B and C in Mexico 55 years ago and at 81 it led to conjestive heart failure which is an easier and less painful way to go. He had no regrets, a long and productive life. He was born on March 13, 1938 in LA and his grandfather owned movie theaters--the Loma. Linda, Midway and Variety--so he went whenever he could. His Dad died when he was 13 and he channelled his energy into becoming a gymnast. He was LA Champion of 1955 and spent all of his summers working out at Muscle Beach 6-8 hours a day.  He was the first person to receive a full scholarship to UC-Berkeley in that sport and went on to become a National Champion. It was there that he met his first wife, Mary Lawrence while teaching trampoline. He became part of Berkeley royalty as her father was the Nobel Physicist E.O. Lawrence. After their marriage broke up he lived in Mexico for 5 years part of which he taught psychology at Blake College in Valle de Bravo. On returning to California he became interested in other classical musics and realized that he would have to go to India to learn seriously. He spent 7 years in Calcutta learning from Pundits Radhika Mohan Maitre and Jnan Prakash Ghosh sarode and tabla and making his musical debut at Calcutta's largest music hall, the Mahajati Sadan in 1979.  He taught hundreds of students in California and performed there until 2000 when he moved permanently to lakeside with his wife, Nancy. They continued teaching and performing all over Mexico and built their homebase on the plaza Ajijic in 2012 by creating "Jasmine's Classic India" a restaurant and performance venue. This was a place that he, his students and visiting artists could perform and he enjoyed it all.  He is survived by his wife, accompanyist and best friend, Nancy and their 2 daughters, Dr Papagena Robbins , a professor of documentary film in Montreal and Renee Strain, a MPA in San Francisco along with her husband, Jerome, kids Jasmine, 13, Jeremiah, 10 and Genevieve,7. His eldest daughter, Kalyani Robbins is a law professor at Loyola in Chicago and has 2 boys Skyler, 14 and Maxfield ,10.  They all love Mexico and have visited in the last year.

Michael will be greatly missed, especially by his family and students . A Lot of knowledge went with him and he will be missed by all who had a lively discussion with him on the plaza.

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@cafemediterraneo  Nancy, we are so sorry for your loss.  Michael and you greatly influenced the local community by employing many workers at your restaurant, teaching them about different food and music cultures.  You and Michael were generous to allow the Thursday market vendors use your space.  He (and you) were always upbeat, with smiles on your faces as you walked steadfastly around Ajijic; I still sometimes refer to you both as The Walkers.  

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2 hours ago, cafemediterraneo said:

I was waiting for the Guadalajara Reporter to publish the obituary that I submitted more than a month ago,but still nothing so here it goes.....My husband, Michael Robbins died on March 2 at home in his own bed under his own terms with me by his side. He had caught Hep B and C in Mexico 55 years ago and at 81 it led to conjestive heart failure which is an easier and less painful way to go. He had no regrets, a long and productive life. He was born on March 13, 1938 in LA and his grandfather owned movie theaters--the Loma. Linda, Midway and Variety--so he went whenever he could. His Dad died when he was 13 and he channelled his energy into becoming a gymnast. He was LA Champion of 1955 and spent all of his summers working out at Muscle Beach 6-8 hours a day.  He was the first person to receive a full scholarship to UC-Berkeley in that sport and went on to become a National Champion. It was there that he met his first wife, Mary Lawrence while teaching trampoline. He became part of Berkeley royalty as her father was the Nobel Physicist E.O. Lawrence. After their marriage broke up he lived in Mexico for 5 years part of which he taught psychology at Blake College in Valle de Bravo. On returning to California he became interested in other classical musics and realized that he would have to go to India to learn seriously. He spent 7 years in Calcutta learning from Pundits Radhika Mohan Maitre and Jnan Prakash Ghosh sarode and tabla and making his musical debut at Calcutta's largest music hall, the Mahajati Sadan in 1979.  He taught hundreds of students in California and performed there until 2000 when he moved permanently to lakeside with his wife, Nancy. They continued teaching and performing all over Mexico and built their homebase on the plaza Ajijic in 2012 by creating "Jasmine's Classic India" a restaurant and performance venue. This was a place that he, his students and visiting artists could perform and he enjoyed it all.  He is survived by his wife, accompanyist and best friend, Nancy and their 2 daughters, Dr Papagena Robbins , a professor of documentary film in Montreal and Renee Strain, a MPA in San Francisco along with her husband, Jerome, kids Jasmine, 13, Jeremiah, 10 and Genevieve,7. His eldest daughter, Kalyani Robbins is a law professor at Loyola in Chicago and has 2 boys Skyler, 14 and Maxfield ,10.  They all love Mexico and have visited in the last year.

Michael will be greatly missed, especially by his family and students . A Lot of knowledge went with him and he will be missed by all who had a lively discussion with him on the plaza.

My deepest condolences. I have known you guys for about 20 years now. Sorry for your loss. 

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Many thanks for sharing information about the wonderfully fascinating life Michael Robbins had.  I didn't meet him until dining at Jasmine's Classic India restaurant in the Ajijic Plaza.  Thoroughly enjoyed conversations with both him and Nancy but had no idea of his entire background.  So very sorry for the loss of this wonderful man.  Condolences to his family.  :(

Val Jones

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Do any of you remember Sharon Scherner and Sheila de la Fuente, her wife?  They lived in Ajijic and then in Chapala from about 1998 until 2002, when they returned to the States.  Sheila passed away in Eugene, Oregon on April 20, 2020.  She is survived by her wife, Sharon, and their daughter, Tara Scherner de la Fuente.

In the photo below, Sheila is seated.  

Her obituary:  https://musgroves.com/tribute/details/187977/Sheila-de-la-Fuente/obituary.html#tribute-start 

image.png

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On 5/3/2020 at 10:42 AM, ajijicbound said:

Thank you Nancy, that is a very nice obituary

The Guadalajara reporter emailed me after this posting and said he never received the obit, so I forwarded it to him and its in this week's paper. Many thanks to all who responded.

theguadalajarareporter.net/index.php/news/news/obituaries/55191-obituaries-may-09-2020

 

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