My Family Tree

Robin Linn Chatfield-Brauer, the second of three daughters, was born to Joseph William Chatfield and Phoebe Ann (Wilkins) Chatfield on April 3, 1964. Robin passed away at 3:07 am on Monday, June 24, 2013 after a difficult battle with metastasized breast cancer that re-surfaced, after 4 years, in her spine and in her liver.

Robin is survived by her beautiful 17 year old daughter Jacqueline Ann Brauer, parents Joe & Phoebe, older sister Tracey Lee (Chatfield) Chavis & younger sister Joann Lauren CHATFIELD, nephews Travis Jacob Knight & Mitchell Reese McQuarie and nieces Mara Nicole Hobson & Ava Lawson White, her father’s second wife Patricia Ann (Jones) CHATFIELD, step brother James Palmer Chatfield & step sister Kelli Marie Jankens, brothers-in-law James Marlan Chavis & Christopher Lawson White, and many other loving family members and friends.

Robin was preceded in death by loving grandparents George Alva & Tommi (Birdsong) Chatfield and Luther Hill & Clara Kathryn (Old) Wilkins. Robin had a special bond with her paternal grandmother, Tommi Birdsong Chatfield and her family’s greatest comfort is knowing that Grandma CHATFIELD, along with Grandma Pidgie (maternal grandmother) were waiting for Robin with open arms – together they will watch over the rest of us and wait patiently for our arrival.

We asked her once what her perfect day looked like and she said it was a Sunday with Grandma in Florida. They would go to church in the morning, come home and wash their hands, have lunch (very often a pimento cheese sandwich and always a glass of iced tea with a teaspoon full of tang for flavor), wash their hands again, and play cards for the afternoon. She truly loved a simple, traditional life filled with the Christian rituals of worship – especially during holidays. Another favorite day for Robin came every spring when she would take long drives looking for wildflowers – she thought the big open fields of bluebonnets were especially beautiful and always elevated her spirit.

There are innumerable words and phrases that aptly describe some part of Robin’s amazingly complex personality but those that spring most readily to mind are:

Immensely talented and creative designer and builder
Fiercely loyal friend
Stubbornly independent woman
Loving daughter and granddaughter
Supportive sister and sister-in-law

But most importantly, she was an incredibly committed mom…

Robin’s number one priority was her daughter Jacqueline and making sure that Jacq has the quintessential high school experience and then receives a college education that will ensure she can always take care of herself.

A list of words doesn’t really tell who Robin was though; it’s the little stories and memories we share that really helps us understand the essence of Robin.

Robin had an unerring sense of style and always carried herself with grace and elegance. She understood innately that class has nothing to do with money or status and everything to do with upbringing and manners. She had high standards for herself and would often impose them on her friends: best friend since high school, Susan Macy Turini, loves to tell the story about walking through Manhattan with Robin on one of their frequent visits when Robin leaned over (Robin was 5’10” and always wore heels – Susan is cute as a tiny button) and asked Susan if it really would have been so much trouble to put on a nice pair of shoes to which Susan replied, “come on Robin, I have lipstick on and I am holding my stomach in – isn’t that good enough?”. One could always strive for more.

Her career included interior design, general contracting, retail sales of home accessories, silk flower arranging, home staging, holiday decorating, furniture sales, and so much more – she had such amazing vision and she was so very sure of herself. You would ask her opinion about what color to use or how to arrange your furniture or what shoes to wear with an outfit and she had an answer immediately – and it was always the right answer. There was never anything more to say than, “As you wish”.

Robin was also an animal lover and especially loved her dogs and her horses. They were an important part of her life and she showered them with affection. Honey, her little dachshund, preceded Robin in death and it was a very difficult loss for Robin and Jacqueline to bear. Dom Perrignon, her beloved grey gelding, is a rescue horse and happily the organization who placed him with Robin has found another family to love him – he has been missing Robin terribly since her illness began preventing her from spending as much time with him as she would have liked.

Services will be held at 3:00 p.m., Thursday, June 27, 2013 at Highland Park United Methodist Church, Cox Chapel, 3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, TX 75205. In lieu of flowers, Robin would have preferred a contribution to her daughter’s education and future. To make a contribution please visit any Wells Fargo Bank branch and ask to make a deposit in the savings account for Jacqueline Brauer of Prosper, TX. The account is nicknamed, Jacqueline’s Future Fund.

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