- Date Of Death: April 3, 2018
- State: Idaho
On the morning of April 3rd, 2018, Heaven sparkled a little brighter as Anita Evelyn Robinson Smith passed away peacefully at Syringa General Hospital at the age of 97. Anita was a Valentine’s Day baby, born in 1921 to Victor and Mary Wilson in Richland, Oregon. She was the fifth of eight children and had five brothers and two sisters. Her family lived in the Powder River, Oregon area for a few years before the depression hit. At that time, her family lost their sheep ranch. They then moved to Pollock, Idaho area near Riggins. Anita and her siblings attended the Brushy Flats and Riggins Schools.
In the fall of 1937, Anita attended a dance in White Bird with her brothers, where she met Harry Robinson. To make a long story short, at the age of 16, the two were married December 18th, 1937. On the way home from the wedding in Council, Idaho, the Deer Creek Road was impassible to cars, so they had no choice but to ride their saddle horses the remainder of the seven miles to their home on Harry’s ranch on Deer Creek.
In 1938, their eldest child, Ernie Robinson, was born. Five years later, they welcomed their daughter Freda into their lives. Times were tough, and Anita worked hard on the ranch alongside her husband, while mothering their two children. They raised cattle, and Anita enjoyed working with them and growing a large garden for which, she harvested and preserved the produce to feed the family all winter. The Robinsons loved to hunt wild game to provide meat for the family.
As the years went by and Ernie and Freda were each married, Harry and Anita welcomed their six grandchildren. Sadly, Harry passed away in 1981. Anita then moved to Grangeville, Idaho, where she married Roscoe “Hoot” Smith.
