HOUSTON- Margarette Robinson, who served on the Houston City Council from 1990 to 1992, passed away from complications from lung disease and was laid to rest on June 5th. Margarette was born in Baldwin, (St. Mary Parish) Louisiana on August 28, 1935. She was eighth of nine children for Louis and Eunice Thompson. She attended Parish public schools. To her family, she was known as “Smilin’ Jack” because, like the 30’s comic character, her glowing smile never seemed to leave her face. Margarette’s jovial demeanor was always a joy to behold. Margarette and Judson Wilbur Robinson, Jr. married in 1958 and to this union were born two sons, Judson, III, and Gerald (who died as an infant). The couple, along with his daughter, Pamela Yvonne, became a close-knit family, residing in the Pleasantville community.
She broke many color barriers by becoming the first African-American woman to attend New York City’s legendary St. Clare’s Hospital School of Nursing; the first African- American operating room nurse at Houston’s St. Luke’s Hospital, in 1959, where she worked on the famous medical team of pioneer heart surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley; in 1956, where she became the first Black registered nurse at the Michael DeBakey VA Hospital Center-Houston; and the first Black industrial nurse at the Anheuser-Busch-Houston plant.
In 1972, she retired from nursing to devote full time to Judson W. Robinson & Sons Real Estate and Mortgage Company, as Vice President of the family business. Mrs. Robinson served on the Houston City Council from 1990-1992, having been sworn in a month after the death of her husband, the Honorable Judson W. Robinson, Jr., who was the longest serving and first African-American City Councilmember since Reconstruction. As Councilmember-At-Large for Position 5, Margarette created history once again. Her tenure extended the Robinson Family’s bridge of public service. With the subsequent victory of her son, Judson III, their 26 year collaborative legacy remains an unsurpassed commitment to the people of the City she loved.
She leaves to cherish in her memory: Judson Robinson, III (Cora) and daughter, Pamela Robinson; grandchildren, Jerika Johnstone (Lance), Cortney and Judson Robinson, IV; great grandchildren, Farrah and Kingston Johnstone; two brothers, Lawrence (Delores) and Father August Thompson; three sisters, Marcel Provost, Shirley Edwards (Josh), and Marion Richardson (Alfonzo); sisters-in-law, Dr. Josie Johnson of Minneapolis, MN, and Algenita Davis Segars (Ardie) of Houston; brother-in-law, James Robinson of Atlanta, GA; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and devoted friends.
