William Robertson

William Calvin Robertson was born on March 23, 1931 to Eugene "Gene" Oral Robertson and Mary Elizabeth (Irion) Robertson in Harper County, Oklahoma, just outside the Oklahoma panhandle. He departed this life on September 2, 2016 at the Briarwood Health Care Center in Denver, Colorado.

Calvin, as he was called since birth, was the first grandson in the family with the last name Robertson. As a result, his name came from Grandad William Anthony Robertson, Great-Grandad John Calvin Robertson, and his initials of W.C. would honor his Grandad W.C. Irion.

He was born and grew up on the family farm that was homesteaded by his grandfather in 1910. Besides his three younger siblings, Calvin was surrounded by numerous cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents who lived nearby, as well as cousins from Oregon who would come and stay the entire summer. Life was challenging growing up in the midst of the Dust Bowl. Calvin helped out on the farm from an early age, riding his Shetland pony over a mile to the back pasture to bring the milk cows home, helping to milk them, and doing many other farm chores. The entire family worked hard and his parents were proud the family "never ever went cold or hungry."

Calvin attended a rural one-room, one-teacher schoolhouse until going to high school in the county seat of Buffalo in 1945. He attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and received an Associate Degree in Commerce after his sophomore year. He left school in his junior year upon the unexpected death of his father in order to run the family farm.

Since an early age Calvin knew he did not want to live his life farming in Oklahoma. Once his brother Leland, who did want to farm, was old enough, Calvin enlisted with the Air Force. He was stationed at Ramstein Air Base in southwest Germany for 2.5 years, which suited his desires to travel as part of his military service. It also provided him with the opportunity to develop what became his future career in accounting with IBM machines. While in Germany, Calvin spent his time off traveling throughout Europe.

After the Air Force, Calvin moved to Denver and began his career in punch card accounting with the Martin Company and later Blue Cross-Blue Shield. During the early 1960s he skied at most of the new ski areas that had recently opened in Colorado. In 1963, Calvin pursued his dream of living in the Colorado mountains, taking a full-time job in Winter Park that provided plenty of time for skiing and a summer job at C Lazy U Ranch.

Calvin met his future wife Shirley Grubb while living in mountains. They married in November 1964, settled in southeast Denver, and started a family. Calvin continued his professional career with First National Bank of Denver, eventually becoming the Senior Trust Officer. In 1979, he pursued another of his dreams, becoming a residential real estate broker. He continued and really loved working with people in real estate until retiring from Re/Max in 1995.

Calvin spent his early retirement years residing part-time in Phoenix and traveling to many states including Alaska. He returned to Colorado full time in 2000 to be close to his children and grandchildren. He and Shirley divorced in 2001.

He was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his brother Leland Robertson (Betty Jo) of Buffalo, Oklahoma, sister Mary Aurel Dahlstrom (Curtis) of Kent, Washington, brother Henry Robertson of Tribune, Kansas, son Todd Robertson (Susan) of Denver, daughter Tricia Robertson of Denver, and grandchildren Zach and Alyssa.

Calvin will be remembered for his devotion to family, his work ethic, and the perseverance he showed throughout his lifetime.

A memorial service for Calvin will be held on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.at First Unitarian Society of Denver, 1400 Lafayette Street, Denver, CO 80218.