Obit: Lifelong Resident Helped Bring Veterans Memorial To Town

LIBERTYVILLE, IL – A lifelong Libertyville resident who is credited with helping to bring the Veterans Memorial Monument to Lakeside Cemetery in Libertyville has died at the age of 90. James F. "Jim" Robbins, who served in World War II and was with the U.S. Marine Corps in China and Guam, will be remembered during a funeral service on Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Burnett-Dane Funeral Home Ltd., 120 W. Park Ave. in Libertyville. The funeral starts at 10:30 a.m. with a visitation scheduled for the hour before the funeral, according to his obituary.

A burial with full military honors will follow at Lakeside Cemetery.

The memorial monument at the cemetery, which he is credited with bringing to fruition, was dedicated on May 31, 1999. From 1992 through 2018, Robbins coordinated Memorial Day programs in Libertyville, according to his obituary.

Robbins is a graduate of Libertyville High School and was employed as a contract glazing salesman for 30 years, working for several area glass companies. He also spent time working for the Lake County Forest Preserve District.

His parents, Horace W. and Louisa J. Robbins, first moved to Libertyville in 1919 and Jim Robbins spent his entire life in Libertyville.

Jim Robbins was a member of the Libertyville VFW Post #8741 since 1950, a former post commander and a quartermaster for 31 years. In addition, he was a member of the Military Order of the Cooties #PT67, Mundelein American Legion Post #867, the First Marine Division Association, China Marine Association, and the Marine Corps League Detachment #801, which he helped reactivate in 2002.

"He was boisterous in his support for the military," Ed Kelly, president of the Lakeside Cemetery Association, told the Daily Herald. The monument has the names of Libertyville Township residents who died while serving in the military inscribed on it. During Memorial Day events, Robbins would bring with him a notebook to make sure he correctly pronounced each of the names on the memorial.

"That was his baby. He felt it an honor to read all their names,"George R. Gandara, the current Post 8741 commander and a fellow Marine, told the Daily Herald.

Robbins died on Jan. 20 and is survived by a son and daughter and five grandchildren.

More via Robbins' obituary and the Daily Herald