Bobby Leolan Robinson

Bobby Leolan Robinson, 95, passed away at home on June 18, 2025. He is survived by his three sons: Robert (Renee, deceased) and stepdaughter Alicia Johnson; Monty (Lynette) and children Kristy (Adam), Morgan (boyfriend Scotty), and Matthew (LaRee); and James and children Lauren and Sam. He is also survived by two great-grandchildren, Reese and Rowan, and his best friend of 79 years, Leland Collins. He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Mary, and his siblings Virgina, Betty, and Billy.

Bobby was born on September 18, 1929, in Nind, Missouri to Desi (Griffin) and William Hall Robinson. Growing up, he worked on the farm with his grandfather and traveled with him selling cattle throughout the state. He graduated from La Plata high school in 1948 and worked the wheat harvests on the plains of Kansas and Oklahoma with his friends. He served in the Korean War from August 1951 to February 1953, in the 1st Calvary Division 5th Regiment communications division. For the first five months of his service, he worked near the front line where he helped lay and repair communication cables and assisted medics in transporting wounded soldiers. He was later transferred to Hokkaido, Japan, where he worked in the supply unit.

Upon his return from the war, and after just three months of dating, he married Mary Lou Pipes on June 27, 1953, in Paragould, Arkansas. Bobby worked for the railroad, and they ran a grocery store in Gifford, Missouri. In 1955, they moved to Denver, Colorado, where Bobby drove one of the first Wonder Bread trucks in the city. The family briefly returned to Missouri, but they eventually settled in Denver in 1961. Bobby’s entrepreneurial spirt helped him acquire filling stations, a bar, and motels in Nebraska and Colorado. One of those motels was the Mountain View Inn in Lakewood, Colorado, which he ran with Monty and Robert until 2023.

He and Mary were very active in the El Jebel Shriners of Colorado and took part in numerous activities to benefit the Shriners Hospital for Children. Bobby was part of the Shriners motorcycle and car clubs, where he participated in events throughout the country. He and Mary also attended monthly lunch groups with their friends from the Shriners, Lunch Bunch and Classics.

As they grew older, Bobby and Mary traveled extensively and they particularly loved Mazatlán, Mexico. Even though he enjoyed traveling, he was proud of his Missouri roots and always said that it was “a good place to be from.”

Bobby loved Denver sports, especially the Broncos, Nuggets, and Rockies. He was a generous and supportive father and grandfather, and he always tried to find the good in everyone. He was quick with a joke, laughed easily, and had a story for every occasion. On top of all that, he maintained a fashionable wardrobe and always wore his cowboy boots to dinner. He will be dearly missed.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, July 28, 2025, at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, CO.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.