1980
Sister Robinson’s Legacy
March 1980


“Sister Robinson’s Legacy,” Ensign, Mar. 1980, 29

Sister Robinson’s Legacy

I recently learned again the lesson that, as a mother, I must not forget: the things I teach my children are not just for today.

Not long ago I sang with a group of women at the funeral of our bishop’s mother, Sister Doris Cunningham Robinson, whom I had honored for her vitality and sense of humor and enjoyed for our common love of music. Her own daughter, granddaughters, and daughter-in-law played violins and pianos at the funeral with the assurance of seasoned performers. A lifelong friend read an excerpt from Sister Robinson’s journal reporting her childhood. Her widowed mother sometimes did not have enough money to supply their needs, yet there was always music.

I was filled with admiration as I listened, not only for Sister Robinson but for her mother whom I’d never known. One mother’s legacy had reached out through four generations, and who could say where it would end? Laurie Williams Sowby, American Fork, Utah