Mildred Jean Slater Robinson, 87, of Sweet Home passed away in California. She was born in Eugene to Otto W. and Pearl (Dove) Slater. Jean was the ninth of 16 children raised in the foothills of the Cascade mountains near Foster. She had an abiding love of Oregon. She and her large extended family celebrated every summer during a large family reunion that was the highlight of her year.

Jean worked as an aircraft riveter in Seattle during World War II, then married Bill at the end of the war. Jean and Bill moved to Fresno where they both worked for Fresno Unified School District and raised their two daughters. They returned to Oregon after retirement to live on the Slater home place at Crawfordsville. They spent many winters at Quartzsite, Arizona.

Jean loved to cook and continued to talk about good food and cooking to the end of her life. She was the heart of her family and taught her family how to love.

Jean is survived by: her loving husband, Bill Robinson of Clovis, California; daughters, Tova Blesh and husband David ‘Mike’ Blesh of Auberry, California, and Joanne Robinson-Kucera and husband John Kucera of Kingsburg, California; grandsons, Matthew Robinson and wife Lindsay, Brandon Pettitt and wife Stacey, Wynn Pettitt, and Alex Martinez; great grandchildren, Wynn Michael, Zoe, Dylan, Abigail, Lucas, Gracie and Ella; brother, Caryl Slater of La Pine; and sisters, Shirley Anderson of Sitka, Alaska and Gayle Thomas of Sweet Home. She was preceded in death by five brothers and seven sisters.

A celebration of the life of Jean Robinson will be held at 3:00 p.m., Thursday, July 12, at Marcola Christian Church in Marcola with internment at Gilliland Cemetery in Sweet Home. Remembrances may be made in her name to Hinds Hospice of Fresno, California.

Arrangements are under the direction of Sweet Home Funeral Chapel.