Willard A. Robinson

November 4, 1931 ~ November 4, 2026

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   Born in Chicago, Illinois, Willard was the son of Barbara (Russell) and Raymond Robinson. The family lived in Marcellus, Michigan where his parents had grown up. He attended Marcellus Public Schools and graduated from high school in 1949 in a class of 24.

   After graduation, Willard enlisted in the Navy to further his education and “see the world.” He completed electronics technician training in 1950 and advanced training in electronic torpedoes in 1951. During the Korean War he was assigned to the destroyer USS Holder (DDE-819), based in Norfolk, Virginia.  The Holder made two cruises to the Mediterranean and Europe, serving with the Sixth Fleet and participating in NATO operations during his service.

   Following his discharge in 1953, Willard enrolled at Valparaiso Technical Institute. On August 8, 1953 he married Joyce Jensen, a former classmate from Marcellus who had recently graduated from Western Michigan College.

   Willard earned an associate’s degree in radio engineering in 1954 and joined Bell Telephone Laboratories as a technical assistant at its Whippany, New Jersey, laboratory, working on military radar systems. He and his supervisor received a patent for a new type of range unit for tracking radar. The unit was deployed in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to guide missiles carrying satellites into space. It was also used in the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile system.

   While working at Bell Labs and raising a growing family, Willard attended evening courses at Newark College of Engineering, now part of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1962 and was rehired by Bell Labs as a Member of the Technical Staff.  He earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from New York University in 1964. 

   As Bell Labs began phasing out its military work in the early 1970s, Willard moved to Massachusetts to develop a microwave relay system to quadruple telephone and network television programming capacity.  In 1982, Bell Labs recognized him as a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff. His later career focused on digital radio systems and testing a new antenna system for microwave radio relays. He retired in 1989 after 35 years of service.

   In retirement, Willard volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. He also joined a Northeastern University program equipping technical professionals to aid middle school science teachers. He volunteered in the Lawrence, Massachusetts public schools, serving a predominantly Hispanic student population. In addition to classroom work, he contributed to teacher training and curriculum development.

   Willard loved travel and photography, documenting the family’s many camping trips throughout the continental United States and southern Canada, including visits to numerous national parks and monuments. He also enjoyed home improvement and renovation projects at the family’s homes in New Jersey and Massachusetts.  He developed a love of bluegrass music and played the guitar.  He enjoyed researching his family’s ancestry.  He shared stories of his youth as “Marcellus Memories” in The Marcellus News.

   Willard and Joyce were committed to social justice. They were active in the civil rights and anti-racism efforts of the 1960s and 1970s, the peace movement, and efforts to promote acceptance of LGBTQ people. Their faith was central to their lives. Both were active in the United Methodist Church and longtime members of Ballardvale United Church in Andover, where they held many leadership roles. Each was elected to serve as a lay delegate to a United Methodist General Conference. Willard also served for eight years on the General Board of Church and Society, in Washington, D.C.

   Willard will be buried beside Joyce at Spring Grove Cemetery in Andover.  A memorial service will be held at Ballardvale United Church, Andover, MA at 10:30 AM on March 20, 2027.  Memorial gifts may be directed to the church’s trust fund.

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