UPDATE: On April 6 at 11 a.m., there will be a memorial service for Robinson at Dunwoody United Methodist Church.
Beloved volunteer Bill Robinson, whose behind-the-scenes work spanning more than 50 years touched almost every area of the Dunwoody community, died Mar. 8 in Carrollton, Virginia. He was 88.
Robinson received several prestigious awards for his service, including the Dunwoody Homeowners Association Citizen of the Year in 2015 and the organization’s first Dick Williams Citizenship Award in 2020. Robinson was one of DHA’s founding members and served on its executive board for decades.
Dunwoody Development Authority Board Member Susan Mitchell said Robinson had a talent for finding the potential in people and encouraging them to get involved in community service.
“Years before there was a city, there was Bill Robinson, serving tirelessly on a number of different boards and organizations, building a sense of community while envisioning a city with local control,” Mitchell said. “Bill was one of Dunwoody’s city shapers – smart, jovial and encouraging of everyone around him.”
Former city councilperson Pam Tallmadge, who worked alongside Robinson in various philanthropic ventures for many years, called him her mentor and “my Dunwoody Dad.”
“Dunwoody’s patriarch touched everything meaningful in Dunwoody – Dunwoody High School, Dunwoody Homeowners Association, Spruill Center for the Arts, Dunwoody Nature Center, Dunwoody Preservation Trust, Stage Door Players, Citizens for Dunwoody – Bill had his name on all of them and more,” Tallmadge said.
He, along with longtime Dunwoody friend and parade co-chair Nick Nicodemus, were named Fourth of July Parade grand marshals in 2006. Robinson was credited for revitalizing the parade in 1991 and served as its co-chair for 14 years. It is now the state’s largest July 4 parade, attracting 30,000 spectators and more than 2,000 participants.
“Bill was a wonderful gentleman who made friends easily,” DHA President Bob Fiscella said. “The DHA will forever be indebted to him for all the hard work in making Dunwoody a better place to live.”
Tallmadge said she knew Robinson in many different arenas, including as a fellow parishioner at Dunwoody United Methodist Church.
“As a devoted member of DUMC, he volunteered on many committees,” she said. “I was honored to be a part of his unofficial Sunday school class, which he held in the choir suite.”
Robinson, an Army veteran, organized the first Veterans Day Ceremony that is now held annually at Brook Run Park. He and his wife, Barbara, were also prominent supporters of the Dunwoody Woman’s Club and its annual home tour.
“I’m guessing that even Bill can’t tell you all the things he’s done for Dunwoody,” then-Dunwoody mayor Mike Davis said at the 2015 DHA Citizen of the Year presentation. “He’s forgotten more of what he’s done than most people have even thought of doing.”
Tallmadge said while she is mourning Robinson’s passing, she is positive that she knows what he is doing now.
“Dunwoody’s parade was Bill’s passion. He shared that love with me, and I am forever grateful,” she said. “I am positive he is organizing a parade in heaven.”
