On April 28th, 1954 the Lord blessed the Lutrario family with their
first child.  A beautiful baby girl, who would be named Roberta after
her father.  She would grow to become the mentor of her future siblings.

She met the love of her life when she was 14 years-old and four years 
later she would elope to Roger Williams Park with her new husband, Peter
F. Colvin.  Children and a life filled with love and family were soon to
follow.

June 22, 1973 was the first magical day of the Colvin family, when Sandra
Francine was born at the Cranston General Hospital.  The power of love 
would deliver a double-dose the following year on October 10, 1974.  Pete
and Robbie were blessed with two beautiful twin girls, Heather Lynn and
Hope Leah. The busy parents would wait three-and-a-half years before their
last miracle would be born, Trisha Rose on April 24, 1978.

No single person in human history loved and devoted themselves more to
their family.  Her four daughters and grandchildren were her life.  She
enjoyed the everyday moments in life, like watching a Harrison Ford movie
or reading an interesting novel.  But, most of all, she enjoyed sitting on
the floor and playing with her grandchildren.

On December 29, 1999, at the age of 45, the greatest Mom in
the world passed on to the gates of heaven.  Even in sickness, Robbie 
displayed supreme courage and love.  Leading us through example, right down
to her last days.

She was the "glue" and the "rock" that kept the family together.  Jesus
Christ taught us to be unselfish and to humble ourselves...no person has
ever heeded the Lord's words more than our Mom, our Sister, our Friend.

We could write a never-ending biography of her life on this page, but we
have chosen to remember her through the memories of her loved ones.  Robbie
is alive and well in heaven, and remains with us on Earth through the
stories and memories that follow...


My mom was the most beautiful, kind, loving person in the world. She was
the strength of our family. We didn't have much growing up, but all I
remember was love. Love from the person who meant more to me than anything.
I think back to my childhood and remember every year my Mom and Dad would
take me and my three sisters to Beavertail in Jamestown. That was my Mom's
favorite place to be. She would pack us a picnic, and we would walk on the
rocks and sit and listen to the waves. That's all she needed to be happy
was being with her whole family. Everytime I think of the ocean I will
think of her. I will cherish those memories forever. We were her life and
she was ours.  
 
When I found out I was pregnant. I was so scared to become a Mom, but I
knew if I could be as good a Mom as her, I would be just fine. She was hard
to compare to. She taught me how to be a good Mother. When Britney was born
she amazed me. I can't even explain to you how much she loved Britney and
how much Britney loved her. They grew to have a very special bond. A bond
that even I was a little envious of. I know Britney will never forget her
Nana. I will keep those memories alive and with her forever. And the same
for her sister Emily. I will never let them forget a woman who loved them
with all her heart. 

I always thought my Mom would be with me forever and I know now that she
always will, maybe not in person, but in memory and in my heart.

                                 -Sadly missed, forever remembered
                                  Your Daughter Heather


When I think of my Mom, I think of a person who was truly one of a kind.
It was the little things in life that made her happy: seeing her family
having macaroni and meatballs every Sunday at her house, sitting outside 
on a warm summer day, and watching her granddaughters run around and play.
Seeing people happy was a joy to her.

I remember she would read the end of a book first to make sure it ended
happy, she wouldn't watch a movie if it had a sad ending.  She was the type
of person who didn't like sadness, whether it was a movie or real life.
She did like mysteries though.  I remember watching Murder She Wrote with
her every Sunday, and we would both try and figure out who did it.  She
was usually right.  She would read a mystery book first then give it to
me, and I would see if I could figure it out.  I think I started to like
to read when I used to go to work with her at the Book Fair, it was her
favorite job.  I would pick out a book and sit there with her and read.
She always made everyone feel special, and did whatever she could for you,
yet never asking for anything in return.

She was always there whenever you needed her. I will miss having her there
just to talk to or to sit and watch a movie or take a ride to Walmart with. 
But most of all I will miss that warm smile she always had and her
beautiful face.  Even towards the end of her life, she was worried about
her family, she called us all up and made us promise to stay close and take
care of each other. I will always remember that most about her.

I know now that I am going to be a Mom, that I will be a good one, because
I had the best teacher.  And even though it hurts me that my child will
never be able to meet her, I will make sure that he knows that he had one
very special Nana...that loves him, even from heaven.


                                 -Very sadly missed, forever remembered
                                  Your Daughter Hope


The one thing I remember most about my Mom is how much she loved me.  To
me, my Mom is the best a person could be.  She would sacrifice and never
ask for a thing in return.  All she wanted was for her family to be happy.
I know that my Mom would have been there for me no matter what I needed.
She never asked for anything, never asked for new clothes or to go out.
She was just happy to stay home and watch her grandaughters play.  That
was what she lived for...her family.

Throughout the years, growing up, I realized more and more how lucky I was
to have a mother like her.  My husband is in the Navy and he was away for
a while.  During the times he was gone, my Mom was there for me.  Whether
it was when the two of us would rent movies on the weekends or when I
needed to cry and she gave me her shoulder.  Whatever it was I needed, I
knew she would be there.

Then it came time for me to move away.  I hated to leave.  I knew how much
it hurt my Mom because it hurt me just as much.  While I was away, we would
take turns calling each other.  I missed my Mom a lot while I was gone, but
I knew she was still there, just a phone call away.  That meant everything.
No matter how much she hated me leaving, she stood by me.  Every time I
came home and saw her smile I wanted to move back.  Whenever I would call
and everyone would be over, I always felt left out.  I hated it.  To know
that my family was together and I was too far away to be there.

I remember the day my Mom found out that I was moving back, closer to home.
The smile on her face and seeing her so happy made me forget about all
those times that I was alone.  I can't think of another time that I saw
her so happy.

I think that if you ever met my Mom, even once, you would remember her.
She was the kind of person who would just make you smile.  I will never
understand why she got sick or had to pass on.  What I do understand is
everything she ever taught me.  To love, stay close, and to always be
there for your family.  You don't need anything as long as you have a
loving family because nothing else matters.  If I don't tell any of my
family enough, I love all of you very much.

I love you Mom.  Thank you for everything.  You will always be with me.
                                 -Love,
                                  Your Daughter, Trisha


Robbie was the oldest of six siblings.  There was never a time that she
wasn't there with us.  Our ages span eighteen years.  I was three years
younger, and closest to her age.

Growing up we didn't always get along.  I was the typical kid sister,
trying to be just like her, and only suceeded in getting in her way.
As we grew older, we became more than sisters, we became friends.

Our friendship really intensified after Robbie got married.  It became a
custom for Rob to pick me up on a Saturday and go out for the afternoon.
Lunch would be at Ponderosa Steak House in the Warwick Mall.  It wasn't
about shopping and buying "things"; it was just a way to spend some time
together.

She taught me the joy of reading.  When she was pregnant with her daughter
Trisha, she started to read Halequin Romance novels.  She would give me a
book she had enjoyed, and then we would talk about what we thought of it.

Her favorite author back then was Margaret Way, and of course she became 
my favorite too!  Even though we shared a favorite author, we differed
on our favorite novel.  Robbie's was Portrait of Jaime.  She loved
the book so much that she wanted to name her baby Jaime, but that was
vetoed by her husband.  I have the whole collection of Margaret Way novels.
They are more than a collection of books for me; they are a treasure trove
of memories shared with my sister.

Robbie was different things to different people.  She was a big sister to
me and my brother Bob.  To her brother Ken and sister Vicki, she was a 
little mother.  Before she became a mother to her own children, she had
honed her wonderful maternal instincts with these two siblings.  To them
she was more than a big sister.  She would fix formula for their bottles
and change their diapers.  But, more than anything, she loved and she
protected them.  I can still see her rocking them to sleep, with the
"Robbie Rock".  One of Rob's treasured posessions was a candle holder that
Ken made in high school.  She always said a house wasn't a home until she
hung that candle holder.  The candle holder is now with her in her final
home.

Robbie's youngest sister, Heidi, is eightenn years younger than her, and
only 8 months older than Robbie's oldest daughter Sandy.  Heidi didn't 
have the opportunity to live in the same house with her big sister. So,
I'm sure, her mrmories are of an adult woman who was already a wonderful
mother.

Rob had the demanding job of raising a 16 month-old baby and new born
twins at the same time.  In typical Robbie Fashion, she cared for those
babies with little help from anyone.  When I think of Robbie as a mother,
I feel great pride.  Her four daughters were blessed with one of the 
greatest mother's that ever lived, and in return her daughters are 
wonderful young women in their own right.

Having died at the very young age of 45, it's a blessing that her four
daughters are all grown and married.  Two with children of their own and
one with a baby on the way.  Sandy and Heather are wonderul mothers, 
following in the tradition of their mother, as I'm sure Hope and Trisha
will too.

When her children were small she was a stay at home mom.  She started
working at a little second hand book store when her youngest daughter
Trisha started kindergarten.  Robbie truly loved this job.  She was close
to home and she could take Trisha with her when she wasn't at school.  She
stayed at this job until the store went out of business.

After the book store, Robbie had a line of other part-time jobs, but
whenever a job would interfer with being a wife, mother or grandmother,
she wouldn't think twice about leaving.  I'm sure that people that really
didn't know her might think that Robbie hadn't accomplished much in her
life.  She never went to college.  She didn't have a sucessful business
career.  She didn't live in a big house with lots of expensive furniture
or have lots of fancy jewelry.

What Robbie did accomplish in her life was to show her family what love,
dependability, and sacrifice are all about.  Her love for her family had
no bounds.  She taught us all that love is being there for each other, 
not only when it is convenient or fun, but when it means putting your own
wants and needs aside.  Even when she was suffering from her illness, we
could depend on her to be strong and have a smile for her grandaughters.
I don't think most of us realize that love and sacrifice are one in the
same.  That's something Robbie knew instinctively.  She was the most down
to earth person that I have ever known.  If it came between cleaning or
spending time with her grandaughters, the kids won out every time!

Maybe people like Robbie are meant to be with God sooner than the rest of
us, and that's why they see what's really important in life.  Their eyes
are not clouded by trivial things, like the rest of us.

As she looks down from heaven, I'm sure she feels great pride in her
daughters: Sandy, Heather, Hope, & Trisha...her grandchildren: Britney,
Emily, Allison, & Kelly...and all her future grandchildren.  I'm sure she
is still watching over them now and for eternity.

                                 -Forever loved, forever missed,
                                        Your Sister Debbie

Thank you for sharing this with me.  It was beautiful and touching.  I too,
knew and loved Robbie.  She was an exceptional human being.  She indeed was
love personified.  Robbie passed away four days before my sister.  I hope
they are joined in Heaven.          
                                 -Maxine Dennis

How can I describe ROBBIE? I first met her about fifteen years ago when she
came to a bridal shower for her sister Debbie (my daughter-in-law).  I saw
the happiness in her eyes that she felt for her sister and I knew there was
a bond between them that only another sister knows.  As the years went by
and I got to know ROBBIE better, I saw that fierce determined love that a
mother has for her children and the deep devotion she had for her husband.
ROBBIE asked little and gave much.  When she would come to Debbie and Don's
home for EASTER, I can still see the delight she took in having all her
family around her and watching the little ones on their EASTER egg hunt.
When ROBBIE found out she was sick, she stayed strong and fought the good
fight as long as she could.  When I look at the four wonderful children she
produced, I know she was put on this earth for that purpose.  I will never
forget ROBBIE and I am glad she was a part of my life.  I will miss her
until we meet again someday; as we all will. GOD BLESS YOU ROBBIE and rest
in peace...                      -Love,
                                  Joan Gregory


Robbie's Page has been read  times!

Last Updated: 2-5-02
Originally Built: 4-28-00
E-Mail: Robbie's Family