Wylie S. Robson

PITTSFORD, N.Y.—Wylie Schall Robson, 89, also of Hancock, died August 20, 2007 in Pittsford.

He was born December 16, 1917 on a dairy farm in Rome, N.Y. His parents, Claude A. Robson and Evelyn Knapp Robson, instilled in him the values of family, hard work and integrity that helped to insulate their family from the worst of the Depression. Those same values remained at the core of his life for the remainder of his 89 years.

He attended a one-room schoolhouse where he absorbed the curriculum two years ahead of schedule and graduated from Westmoreland High School at age 15. A family friend encouraged him to become the first in his family to attend college. Through scholarships and hard work, he graduated from The University of Rochester in 1938. His goal of becoming a physics teacher was curtailed when a friend suggested that he sign up for an interview with Eastman Kodak. He began his working career at the Kodak pavilion of the 1938-39 Worlds’ Fair.

In 1940, he married Elvah Marie Abbott, who had co-starred with him in a high school operetta.

When World War II broke out, he was starting work in motion-picture sales. He received a commission in the U.S. Navy, and it was during those war years in California, that two children, Roberta and Richard, were born.

After the war and his return to Kodak there was a quick succession of career advancements and the birth of two more children, William and Suzanne. As he was transferred from coast to coast, he indulged his love of family camping trips, with four children, a dog and a trailer that he contrived to unfold in ingenious ways. He also found the time to personally build additions onto several of his family’s succession of homes.

Kodak made him a Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received his MBA in 1956. He went on to become vice president and general manager of the consumer markets division, then executive vice president, a member of the board of directors, and head of the international division.

He was a member of the board of many corporations and organizations. Since his final return to Rochester, N.Y. in 1957, he has been a faithful member of Asbury First United Methodist Church.

His second home, and his favorite place to be, was a house that the family built on the White River in Hancock. There, he and his wife hosted many family gatherings, where the focus was always singing around the campfire, and also enjoyed attending the Federated Church of Rochester.

He is survived by his wife, Elvah: his children and their spouses, Roberta and Tom Brennan of Dublin, Ohio; Richard and Dorothy Robson of Hancock; William and Anne Robson of Malvern, Penna.; and Suzanne and Victor Ribaudo of New York, N.Y.; 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and four nieces.

A memorial service was held August 24 at Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester, N.Y. A second memorial service will be held Saturday, Oct. 6 in Hancock, with details to be announced in a later edition of The Herald. Memorial contributions may be made to the Federated Church of Rochester.

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