Albert Warren Robbins

BETHESDA, Md. – Albert Warren Robbins, a resident of Bethesda, Md., passed away peacefully on Sept. 14, 2024, surrounded by his loved ones. He was born in Rumford, Maine, on Dec. 26, 1952 and raised in Frye (now a part of Roxbury), Maine. He was the son of the late Winfield and Marguerite Robie Robbins, who owned and ran the A.W. Robbins and Son General Store, and also ran the post office and gas station.

Growing up in this pristine area — with his two siblings and maternal grandmother living in their home above the store, his paternal grandparents just across the street, and a menagerie of animals in the yard – shaped his strong devotion to family, his soft spot for pets, and his passion for travel and adventure. The surrounding woods, fields and Swift River provided the settings for childhood escapades and cherished memories. His beloved horse, Peggy Sue, took him far and wide.

From a two-room schoolhouse in Roxbury, he eventually attended Mexico schools. At age 14, he met people who would become life-long friends (Monica Wood and Sheila Damon Kendall), and one who would become his wife (Denise Vaillancourt).

His sense of adventure propelled him to attend college far from home (Nebraska) and to spend semesters in France and Colombia. After graduation, he was hired to teach English as a second language in Bogota. When he traveled to Washington, DC, to secure his work visa, fate intervened. He and his childhood friend, Denise Vaillancourt, who was studying in Washington, fell in love and eventually married. He found a Spanish-speaking job at the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization. For the next 30 years, he procured drugs, vaccines and medical supplies for Central and South America, often for emergency responses, with travel to countries to guide and support locals. Denise’s public health job at the World Bank provided added adventures with their boys, including travel to Africa and Asia.

Albert’s greatest love and devotion was to his family and friends. He was the proud father of two sons — each one inheriting his qualities as loving husbands and fathers — and doting grandfather to their children. Nathan Vaillancourt Robbins, his wife, Emily Chereskin Robbins, and their son, Wyatt; and Joel Vaillancourt Robbins, his wife Mildred Alejandra Robbins, and their children, Lila, Aria and Jacob. He is also survived by his beloved siblings, Winfield Robbins and his wife Charlotte Burley, and Vickie Bonney, and her husband Richard Bonney, his niece, Heidi Bonney and husband Jef. and his nephew, Richard Bonney and wife Trang, and their sons, Jaxon and Kaen. Over time Albert and Denise’s families truly merged into one. They loved each other’s siblings like their own, with an extra special place in Albert’s heart for his “bonus little sister,” Jane. He loved his widowed mother-in-law, the late Theresa Vaillancourt, who adored him. She also loved the times she spent with Vickie, Dick, Winnie and Charlotte. Albert also leaves behind many cherished friends and cousins-by-marriage, too numerous to name.

A small private service will be held in October in his honor.

In lieu of flowers, a contribution to the:

Hope Association

Rumford, Maine

may be made

in his memory