Rest your feet and set a spell.
So many of us at BBVA Compass who know Bill and Robin, remember seeing them walking hand-in-hand every morning near our office in the River Oaks area of Houston. It was evident to all of us how very happy and in love they were. They always brought a smile to our faces.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, your family, Bill and his family at this time.
Susan Green
The one I remember was the summer your [Sperry’s] parents went to Europe and we, my father, Clark, mother, Florence, sister, Heather, me, Campbell and Pittle Luppy, our mongrel dog, moved into your parents home to watch over your sister, Robin and your brother, Grainger while they traveled. That must have been about 1956. Pittle Luppy was called that in honor of Spoonerisms(my father’s favorite word game) and the fact the Little Puppy peed everytime she got excited.
Robin was studying singing at the time and was always practicing singing her scales in her room.
As a joke I would put Pittle Luppy outside Robin’s room and start her howling when Robin started practicing.
It was very irritating for Robin because she did not know I was the one starting the dog howling each time. But she would come out of her room to find the dog sitting there howling away. Being Robin and always so nice; her remark was always, “The little dog just loves my music”.
Robin and her lifelong friend Jean Garwood by the ocotillo at the house in Alpine, Texas my mother Eugenia called her “The Gate to Heaven.” I can’t count the times Robin and I returned to Robin’s house to find a sweet, fresh message from Jean, another measure of Robin’s loyalty and what a good judge of character she was. I was pleased to see Jean at Robin’s service unchanged by time and her devotion to her childhood friend.
Sperry
Dear Sperry,
I so enjoyed Robin and her irrepressibly sense of humor, was delighted that herself and had a wonderful few years in which they both wrote and shared poetry.
I have fond memories of our visit in Seattle with Robin, Amy and Bill, and the time awe spent at my home, at that time on Mercer Island and really feel a huge loss at the passing of your lovely sister.
Maureen
I’m Dorothy, Bill’s sister. The first time that I met Robin was at Bill’s house . She was sitting on the piano stool with my sister Nancy. I thought that she had the most beautiful voice. Each time there after when we had the pleasure of seeing her, WE GOT TO HEAR HER SING. I loved Robin, and also her voice. I will miss her.
In sadness,
Dorothy
[A thoughtful recollection from Emory R. Guest written to Robin’s brother Sperry]
I am Uncle Bill’s second son (if he had one). I enjoyed having lunch at their house every Friday for a year or two. Most of the time Robin would be able to join us. I really enjoyed helping her set the table or bring out drinks to the patio table. But most of all, cloth napkins. She wouldn’t settle for anything less even though it was just a sandwich whipped up in the kitchen with spare items, often a fried Reuben sandwich. She had my napkin and napkin ring assigned to me to use each time I came over.
The reason I enjoyed helping her in any way I could is because she made me feel loved, comfortable and welcome from the first moment I met her. She always greeted me with a big smile and kiss which I returned with pleasure. I truly felt like she was my companion as much as Uncle Bill’s during our Friday lunches. If I had to come up with one thing negative to say about her to save my life, I would just start praying for mercy because I would be on my way to meet the Lord. But what was up with that art she hung on the walls? It sure made for some interesting conversations when I brought my two young sons over for family gatherings.
I love your sister and am sad that I didn’t get to have more time to enjoy her. Another reason to look forward to eternity in Heaven I suppose.
With love,
Emory
One of the most endearing qualities of Robin was her vulnerability and her open spirit.
The memory of those qualities is forever cherished in my memory. One of my favorites occurred as we stood in front of the kitchen sink at the ranch after one of our Thanksgiving feasts. She told me about something that she was struggling with and ask me what I thought she should do. From that time on we were dear friends as well as cousins. There was no guile in Robin!
[I] remember how whenever Robin began to speak, we would all listen but with our mouths open in rapt & adoring attention ( my mother one time had to tell me to close my mouth while staring adoringly at Robin). A year or so ago, my Beeville book club invited Robin to come to visit and talk about her books, how she came up with ideas, where & who were her muses and etc. My living room was filled and crowded and as Robin spoke, oh my gosh, I realized, everyone in the room was staring at Robin, spellbound and…with their mouths wide open, in absolute rapture!!
Later when I laughed and told Robin & Bill, Robin, in characteristic fey amazement, played her, as we all can attest, straight man role, unbelieving what I had said. I can hear her now, ” oh Heather!” I have received so many calls from my friends in Bville who have heard that I had lost my dearly beloved Robin. She touched so many lives with her sweetness and zest.
Letters from Cram to President Lovett became quite positive after
the resolved crisis late in March 1910. This followed a request from
Lovett that must have caused some final anxious moments. He wanted
copies of all six earlier versions of the general plan. Fortunately, the
copies were returned promptly by Lovett, with only minor changes
noted. Watkin started almost immediately on a large “presentation
drawing.” Cram wrote that he “. . . [took] no exception whatsoever
to [your] final ideas regarding development of the General Plan ….
working plans for the Administration Building are developing admi-
rably …. Mr. Watkin [is busy with] a tracing showing precisely how
the whole thing works out.” And there was further good news: Frank
Ferguson, in Houston for some on-site studies and a survey of the
possible availability of construction materials in the city or area, had
discovered a “distinctly promising, quite pink” local brick at the
Sherman Brady Brickyard.
http://archive.org/stream/williamwardwatki00nich/williamwardwatki00nich_djvu.txt
This is a picture of my father, Judge Wilmer Brady Hunt, with his 1920 freshman class at Georgetown.
