Fairfield, CT - Walter Spalding Robbins, CLU, of Fairfield, Connecticut passed away on February 5, 2016 at the age of 88.
Walt was named after his great-uncle J. Walter Spalding, brother of A.G., and Chairman of A.G. Spalding & Bros. Sporting Goods. J. Walter Spalding, at the time of Walt's birth, predicted in a humorous and affectionate letter to his niece, Walt's mother, that Walt would one day be a "captain of industry".
Walt was born and grew up in Orange, NJ, attending the Carteret and Hotchkiss Schools. Following Hotchkiss, he served with the US Third Army occupation forces in Regensburg, Germany before matriculating at Yale College. While there, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Elihu, and the varsity golf team (1949-51), where he won the Paul Haviland Memorial Trophy. He was a devoted husband to Joan, his wife of 63 years and the loving father of six children, Walter S Robbins II, Claire Miner, Anne Mandeville-Long, Jonathan G Robbins, and Peter T Robbins. His daughter Elizabeth Cissel predeceased him. Walt had 17 grandchildren.
Following Yale, he worked for MassMutual, starting a general agency in Fairfield County, CT in 1958, and moving it eight years later to Manhattan where he expanded its coverage to the entire tri-state area. Golf was always a major part of Walt's life; his handicap at one time was +2 and he considered a professional career in the sport. He won many tournaments in his life, including the NJ Junior State Championship in 1947. He was a member of many golf associations and clubs including the US Seniors, Musketeers, Three Score and 10, Yale Golf, Pine Valley, The Links, New Haven Country Club, Ekwanok, and the Country Club of Fairfield.
Walt had an active spiritual life beginning at Yale when he was Chair of the Undergraduate Board of Deacons. Later he was Senior Warden of the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church in Southport, CT, and a trustee of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.
His life was summed up eloquently by his friend Dan Lufkin who wrote "all his life he has been doing things for others; quietly, anonymously, effectively, graciously…Even more important, he always travelled with a moral compass that charted the 'high road' during his watch. When it's all done, it is this enduring quality which is Walt, without which nothing else is of much importance."
A memorial service will be held at St Timothy's Episcopal Church in Fairfield on Satuday, February 13 at 11am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Yale Golf Association.