Robin Lynn Anderson, always quick to help, dies at age 64

Among her decadeslong circle of friends, Robin Lynn Anderson was quiet and loyal — the one with surprising quips, a quickness to forgive and a love of Kabekona Lake, bonfires, 4-mile walks, and all things sports and family.

The 64-year-old Electro-Sensors receptionist with a vast sweatshirt collection loved shopping for clothes and modeled for Christopher & Banks each spring and fall at Southtown Center in Bloomington.

Yet that very model took years to grow comfortable enough to smile in photos or discuss politics with anyone. The Lamberton native who adopted Bloomington as her home after high school collected beautiful dishes but didn't cook. Robin loved her coffee mugs, but never drank coffee. She loved kids and dogs but had none of her own. Root beer, lakes, dogsitting, the Twins, March Madness, playing golf and Neil Diamond made her tick.

She once donned a snowmobile suit and stood out in the cold at night to buy Neil Diamond concert tickets. When they met, former roommate Joyce Rollins said Anderson had 17 Neil Diamond albums but knew nothing about Winnie-the-Pooh. So Rollins bought Anderson a Winnie video. Soon Anderson adored "Tigger" and the two women were fast friends — evolving over decades from the close-knit Youth Group at Christ the King Lutheran Church into its Middle Ages group.

Two weeks ago, Rollins asked Anderson to come over for dinner; Anderson requested hot dogs and chips. They topped off the meal with root beer floats and cupcakes. It would be their last meal together. Anderson died unexpectedly in her Bloomington apartment Aug. 12 of a likely brain bleed.

Her death has left her family and friends reeling.

The youngest of five siblings and an aunt to nine nephews and one niece and great-aunt to 16, Anderson was a constant in their lives.

"This was very unexpected," said sister Lois Diedrich. Anderson just leased a new car and visited Lois and Denny's Park Rapids lake home for the last time before they sold it. A memorial service will be held at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Bloomington after Labor Day.

Her death is a blow to the children she watched grow up to become parents themselves.

"She loved them as much as if they were her own kids," going to every concert, every ballgame, said Karen Youmans, her former roommate and friend of 28 years. "She loved the people around her very dearly. She was not the only heart and soul of the [close-knit church] group but she was a strong part of it in her own quiet way. She was always the one who said, 'What can I do to help?' "

She was the first to grab a paintbrush to take part in the church's house paint-a-thons for senior citizens. She loved anonymously paying for other people's coffee or meals at drive-up windows. "She did that a lot, even though she never made a lot of money ... and was scared to death of retirement. She has always been single and didn't know if she'd have enough to retire," Youmans said.

Anderson's favorite place was Kabekona Lake, which she'd often visit, taking nature photos and sharing bonfires and meals with Youmans, Rollins and other friends from church and her former job at Ag-Chem Equipment. Anderson hated traffic. To avoid it, she skipped work on a Friday, hit the road to the cabin at dawn, and always got there first. The habit earned her the nickname Weenie. It made her laugh.

"She never held a grudge against anyone for any reason. She was always ready to forgive," even ex-boyfriends who did her wrong and bosses who sometimes took advantage of her quiet nature, Youmans said. "She didn't make mountains out of molehills."

Dee DePass • 612-673-7725