Jack Robbins, age 79 of Mayerthorpe, Alberta, passed away peacefully on July 11, 2024 at the WestView Health Center in Stony Plain, Alberta.  Jack had been receiving hospice treatment at the time of his passing and was well cared for and supported until the end.

Jack was born January 11, 1945, in Stettler, Alberta to Ernest and Winnifred Robbins.  An only child, Jack grew up surrounded by a loving extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins.  Jack was an accomplished tradesman having earned certifications in the plumbing and pipefitting trades that took him throughout Alberta in his early career.  Jack retired having been the Director of Support Services at the Mayerthorpe General Hospital.  In his later years he enjoyed the irony of being a patient at the Mayerthorpe Hospital and using his knowledge of the facility to “break out” and walk back to the Pleasant View Lodge when he felt he was ready to be discharged.

Jack married the love of his life, Joan Craig, on August 10, 1968, in the village of Gadsby.  The marriage to Joan lasted until Joan’s passing in 2017 and brought many years of joy to both Jack and Joan.  The marriage immediately extended Jack’s family to include Joan’s three sisters and their husbands, and firmly established the Robbins family roots in the Stettler area.  This led to Jack and Joan having four loving children: Kimberly, John, Stacey and Josh, and establishing Jack as the fiercely devoted head of a clan of children and an ever-changing menagerie of dogs, birds, horses and other pets. In early 2009 Jack was reunited with his daughter, Wendy, completing a piece of his life that had been missing for many years.

An active member of AA for over fifty years, Jack credits his sobriety for giving him a life and family that he looked back upon with pride.  The support he received maintaining his sobriety was paid back many times over through his sponsorship of others battling similar challenges and is a legacy that Jack will be forever known for.

He is survived by his children and their spouses; Wendy (Dusty Twin), Kimberly (Tony Mattern), John (Maggie), Stacey (Jeremy Wagner), and Josh (Kelly Rowswell); grandchildren Matthew, Justin (Kyra Schellenberg), Nicole (Jacob Rickman), Shaun, Bailey, Kaedence, Aiden, Holden, Cullen, Maeve, Haddie and Oliver; and his dearest cousin Marlene (Duncan McNeill).

Jack did not want a formal funeral. There will be a graveside service at the Gadsby Omega Circle Cemetery on August 10, 2024, at 2 pm. Friends and family are invited to attend. Please bring a lawn chair if standing for any length of time is difficult.  In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to a local area animal shelter or the SPCA.

The family would like to thank the amazing teams at the Pleasant View Lodge in Mayerthorpe, the Mayerthorpe Hospital, the Manor in Whitecourt, the Whitecourt Hospital, and the West View Health Center in Stony Plain. Thank you for treating our Dad like he was a member of your family.