Leonie Adelheid Robbins

Leonie Adelheid “Loni” Robbins, aged 85, passed away to Heaven on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in Bend, Oregon, after a brief illness. A resident of The Dalles, Oregon, for more than 50 years, Leonie moved to Bend in 2020 to be near family. They were present when she ended her long and full life’s journey in peace, at Partners In Care Hospice House.

Leonie was born on March 3, 1939, in Erbach-im-Odenwald, Germany, to Johann Walther and Gretel (Dengler) Walther. It was only months before the Second World War, and a difficult time under Hitler’s dictatorship. Her father, a Social Democrat, had earlier spent time in one of the first Nazi concentration camps. While Leonie shared typical pleasant childhood memories, she also remembered the family’s underlying anxiety about their future, and other unique wartime experiences like riding in a blacked-out train, or seeing the glow in the night sky from a nearby city being bombed. In 1945, relief and liberation came with the American Army’s arrival. Kind, friendly GIs who befriended little Leonie made a huge impression on her. From that time onward, she always expected she would marry an American.

In her youth, Leonie developed passions for languages, folk music, travel and fun. She attended Gymnasium secondary school and was in the stenographer’s club. She showed her adventurous, independent streak with trips to Holland and Yugoslavia. She graduated from the Jugenheim teachers’ training college in Darmstadt, becoming an elementary school teacher in Mumling-Grumbach, near her hometown. This was when she met her lifelong partner, Grant Robbins, who was stationed in Babenhausen with the U.S. Seventh Army. They were married twice in Germany, first on July 16, 1963, by the Burgermeister of Erbach, and again in a July 27 Protestant church wedding. This was followed by her first visit to Oregon, with a car tour around the state and deer hunting in Southeast Oregon. She enjoyed telling how her first view of the expansive Steens Mountain country literally took her breath away.

Leonie and Grant were together for the next 57 years, sharing a deep love through thick and thin. They shared the same values and world views. They moved from Germany to posts in Virginia, where son Mike was born in 1965, followed by John in 1968. In 1966, Leonie returned to Germany with Mike, while Grant served in Vietnam. On a trip to meet Grant for his R & R leave, she visited Iran, India and Thailand.

Upon leaving the Army in 1969, they purchased a ranch on Seven Mile Hill, initially roughing it without a phone or running water. Leonie worked at Chenowith Primary School from 1975 to 2001 as a reading aide, impacting the lives of many kids until she retired. She maintained her passion for language by becoming adept in Spanish, enjoying local conversation groups until late in her life. She loved to read about mountaineering. She was a famous walker, either at the Wahtonka High track, or hiking on Seven Mile (surviving a cougar scare!) or elsewhere in the beautiful Gorge.

Over the years, Leonie enjoyed being a loving grandma. In 2012, she and Grant moved into Pomona Meadows. She visited Germany a final time 2017. To the very end, Leonie was ready with a sweet smile, making the best of any situation. We, and so many family members and friends remember her for being full of life, positive and friendly. Everyone appreciated her smiles and her friendship.

Leonie was preceded in death by her husband Grant, son Mike, her parents, sister Margit, Margit’s husband Horst Schmidt, and nephew Hans-Jurgen Schmidt. She is survived by son John and wife Lisa, grandson Joe; granddaughter Christina Robbins-Dahlin, great-grandson Micheal; and by relatives in Oregon and Germany. Leonie will be interred with Grant and Mike at the Odd Fellows Parklawn Cemetery (Three Mile Road) later this spring. A graveside service is planned.

Spencer, Libby and Powell Funeral Home in care of arrangements.