Anne W. Robie

1924 - 2017

Anne W. Robie obituary, 1924-2017, Annapolis, MD

BORN

1924

DIED

2017

FUNERAL HOME

John M. Taylor Funeral Home

147 DUKE OF GLOUCESTER ST

Annapolis, Maryland

Anne Robie Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on Oct. 23, 2017.



Anne Ashford Wattles Robie “Patty,” age 92, died on October 22 in Annapolis. She was born in Washington, D.C. in December 1924, to LTJG and Mrs. Thomas Lippitt Wattles.



As a Navy Junior, Patty moved with her father, mother, and younger sister, Joan, from one duty station to another. Her father was stationed at the Naval Academy while she was in high school, and they lived in the Yard. The years that her family spent in Annapolis were fondly remembered by Patty, particularly because she met all three of her husbands (all USNA graduates and Naval Aviators) there. She attended Annapolis High School and entered the College of William and Mary in the fall of 1942, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority.



In 1944, Patty married LT Clive A. Strangman, who was killed in a midair collision in April 1945. She returned to William and Mary and graduated in 1947. In the summer of that year, Patty married LCDR William D. Spiegel. They had three children. After Bill retired from the Navy, they moved to Centerport, Long Island, where Patty and two partners owned a shop, Sew Biz. When that marriage ended, Patty moved to Northern Virginia.



In 1980, Patty married CAPT Edgar A. Robie. She often reminisced that Ed taught her to jitterbug when she was 15, and they enjoyed dancing well into their eighties. When Ed retired in 1984, they moved to Annapolis, and in 1997, they moved to Ginger Cove. They had 33 years together, until his death in 2014.



Patty, also known as Bma to her grandchildren, was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother and was a friend to everyone. She is survived by her three children, Bill, Joanie (Bruce), and Tom (Carey), two grandchildren, Carrie Wachter Morris (Brandon) and Amy Wachter Driggers (Asher), and two great grandchildren, Brennan Morris and Laura Morris. She also leaves behind many cherished cousins, and dedicated friend, Carlson Carter Woodside.



Along with her lifelong membership in Pi Beta Phi, Patty was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames, the Jamestown Society, and the Four Rivers Garden Club. She loved dancing, gardening, and playing golf. When asked what she would like people to remember about her, she replied, “I just love people.” Her memory will be cherished by her family and friends.



A Celebration of Life will be held at 10:30 AM on November 17, at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, in the lower level of the Naval Academy Chapel.



To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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6 Entries

November 26, 2017

Joanie Wachter

I so enjoyed reading the memories each of you shared about my mother. Thank you for taking the time to share with us. I have copied them and will send them out to my family.

November 16, 2017

James Metcalfe

Dear Family & Friends:

My cousin Patty was one of the most beautiful women I have ever known. She was beautiful in all she did. I first remember her clearly at her wedding to Clive. The garden party at Blair House in Williamsburg was splendid. I really enjoyed myself at the age of about three but I must have been a bother to all those young men in Service Dress White. They soon locked me up in the cage that my Aunt Nettie put the cats in when they were a bother!

My mother, Honey Bee, was Patty's aunt & Godmother. They shared many of the same highs & lows in life. Both lost Navy husbands to service. Both had husbands die. But both always got back on their feet & made the most of life.

I remember about 1948 when Billy was born. Patty & Bill were living in "quarters" at the Naval Postgraduate School then in Annapolis. Their quarters were a Quonset Hut! I think it was only one half of the hut. Another couple was in the other half divided by a flimsy wall. How far we have come!

One of my favorite pictures of Patty was taken in the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville in about 1960. She was holding her newborn son Tommy. With her was my sister Judy McCrimmon with her newborn son Rob. Then Aunt Nettie & Honey Bee had their pictures taken together with their new grandsons. Everybody had beautiful smiles!

In 1968 Lisa & I stayed with Patty & her family near Grumman while I went thru some flight training. The most memorable part was sleeping in the room with a rattle snake & a piranha. They were in separate tanks with locked lids. I don't know who claimed ownership. I am sure it was not Joanie!

Later we came to know Ed Robie well & enjoyed meeting so many of his classmates at their Tailgate gatherings for Navy games. Patty would always take me around & introduce me to each of Ed's classmates & their spouses. Ed grumbled about Patty having so many cousins. Of that she was guilty & those of us fortunate to be her cousins will always cherish the honor. Of course we loved Ed & were grateful for the 30 years they had together.

All of us who have been blessed to know Patty will always be thankful for the light & spirit she brought into our lives. To Bill, Tom, & Joan & their families, we send our love to all.

Cousin Jimmy, age 77, & the Metcalfe cousins

November 14, 2017

Leslie Willmott

Patty was a dear friend of my mother's and a beautiful woman that I adored and lovingly called my "other mom" when they were both living in Ginger Cove. Patty and I shared a history of loving to sew and often compared many fashion notes in years past. I feel very fortunate to have been able to spend time visiting with her just a few months ago and hearing some delightful stories. Our loss is certainly heaven's gain. Please accept my deepest sympathies.

November 9, 2017

Frances Harwood

Patty was such a great friend and a wonderful Chairman of the Annapolis Colonial Dames. We will miss her terribly. She was an inspiration to all.

November 5, 2017

Through her son Tom, my wife and I have heard many endearing stories of Ms. Robie's grace and generosity.
We had the opportunity to meet her in recent years on her visits on happy occasion to the Eastport Yacht Club.

Condolences to her large and loving family.

Ann and Mark Schweitzer

October 29, 2017

Suzi Miller

Patty is the end of an era - closing it with the grace and beauty that typified her life. At the age of 15, she started going to the "Navy Hops" while living in Annapolis. At the US Naval Academy, my father (Jerry Miller, ret) lived with Clive, Patty's first husband, who said when he first saw Patty that "I'm going to marry that woman." Sadly, not too long after their wedding, Clive was killed in a mid-air collision. During those years, Patty helped my mother, Dotty Petrullo Miller, raise me and my brothers (Scott and Doug Miller), while Dad's Navy career took him away, and we were constantly moving. I don't know how Mom would have ever made it through the challenges of being a Navy wife with 3 young children if it hadn't been for Patty, who was like a second mother to us. Fortunately, the Millers and Spiegels shared many duty ports, so we frequently ended up in Jax or N VA at the same time. The 3 Spiegel kids and 3 Miller kids were like cousins, although we never really got to know our "true" cousins. We stayed close through the decades. When Dad died at the age of 95, Patty was his oldest friend in attendance at the Arlington National Cemetery. I feel so blessed to have known Patty and her children, my "cousins." She is the classiest, and kindest woman I have ever known. God is great. He gave us Patty.

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