Connie Eileen Hodges Robinson

Connie Eileen Hodges Robinson earned her wings and returned home to her Heavenly Father on Wednesday, November 11, 2020.

She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. Although she battled many health problems and had been ill recently, her passing came unexpectedly and she will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Connie was born May 4, 1947 in Murray, Utah to parents Ivan Hodges and Erma Nielsen. She was a bright and happy child who made friends easily and loved her family. She was the oldest of 7 children.

She married the love of her life, David Robinson, on April 27, 1965 and they were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple on April 27, 1982. They were happily married for 55 years.

Connie was preceded in death by her parents and her brother. She is survived by her husband, David Robinson, 2 daughters Debbi (Jesse) Pettey and Tammie (Jesse) Ynda, 3 cherished grandchildren: Austin Pettey, Alex Pettey and Jessica Ynda, 5 siblings Ivan (Joan) Hodges and Marlene Ogan, Jim (Katie) Hodges, Darrell (Martha) Hodges, John (Melissa) Hodges, along with many adoring nieces and nephews, cousins and her precious fur-baby Toby.

Her husband lovingly called her "Bunny" and her grandkids called her "Nana". She absolutely loved being a Wife, Mom, Aunt and Nana... but being Nana was her most favorite role and she was her grandchildren’s biggest cheerleader. She loved hearing about everything going on in their lives and celebrating their achievements. She was also very proud of her daughters and could often be heard talking about them. Her nieces and nephews were also a source of huge joy and pride.

She loved her family and dear friends more than anything in the world and lived to celebrate with them on every occasion. She was the queen of social gatherings and planned and hosted countless BBQs, birthday parties, showers, holiday parties and game and movie nights. Her home was often the place to be. She also loved going out to lunch or dinner to celebrate everything and everyone!

Her hobbies included crocheting, sewing, cooking, baking/decorating cakes, reading, crafting, scrapbooking, movies, dining out with friends and shopping.

She loved to crochet special baby blankets for all her loved ones new babies and has even made extra blankets for the great grandbabies that will come in the future so that they will feel her love. She always had a current project by her favorite chair.

She loved to sew and over the years has made darling dresses for her daughters, their baby dolls and their Barbies. She loved Halloween and has made many elaborate Halloween costumes for her grandkids. She also sewed on loads of Boy Scout and Girl Scout patches and loved helping out with scouting activities.

She loved all things crafty and loved serving on Relief Society’s Homemaking committee for many years sharing her talents with her sisters. Many of her friends would often join her church activities to make her fun projects and spend time with her and learn from her.

She loved her teal green convertible Chrysler LeBaron which was a Christmas gift from her adoring husband. She drove that around for many years and felt like a million bucks in that car! She loved cruising around with her grandkids and especially loved taking her granddaughter Alex to her dance and basketball practices in style! She wasn’t able to drive it for the last several years but kept that precious gift in her garage to admire.

She was a University of Utah fan and wore the Red proudly. She loved watching both football and basketball games and would get so excited that she would have to turn up her oxygen. She beamed with pride when her oldest grandchild, Austin, graduated from the University of Utah.

She also loved supporting her granddaughter Jessica in dance, choir and most recently on the Drill Team. She lived for her performances and only missed them when she was stuck in the hospital, which would break Nana’s heart.

She loved owning and operating the Baskin Robbins in Cottonwood Heights with her husband and daughters for many years and decorated thousands of ice cream cakes! They loved working with all of the kids they employed and this business brought them great joy. She loved spoiling everyone with her special treats and would bring them to every event.

She loved animals and was even known to bring home a few strays that needed a good home over the years. She was especially fond of little dogs and even threw her most special pups birthday parties! Her most recent fur-baby was a Pom-chi named Toby who adored her and became her emotional support puppy who went everywhere with her for the last 3 years. He was a wonderful companion and took great care of her. Toby will now take wonderful care of her sweet hubby Dave and will bring him much love and joy.

Over the years she also enjoyed camping and boating with her family and friends and loved to travel. She especially loved Disneyland and the beach.

Connie was full of love and welcomed everyone into her home. She had a knack for decorating and made everything beautiful. She was generous and loved helping others and was usually the first one to support a cause or a person in need. She was also very creative and loved brainstorming ideas for the next party or event with her daughters.

Connie faced many health problems over her life and was a valiant fighter. Her health problems began with a rare blood disease that took one of her lungs at the age of 27 when she was given just 6 months to live. She prayed only for more time to be with her young daughters and sweet husband. Over the years, she continued to fight as more health problems arose and continued to pray for more time. She desperately wanted to see her daughters grow up and then eventually thanks to answered prayers... her grand babies grow up. She never complained about her health problems and never took life for granted. She felt extremely blessed to be with her family all these wonderful years and cherished every moment. She was truly a humble warrior with incredible strength. Her most recent health battle began with skin cancer on her face which resulted major surgery followed by radiation. She then got pneumonia and a hospital bacterial infection called pseudomonas that she was not able to overcome. She passed away of heart failure at home with her adoring husband by her side.

She filled our lives with love, laughter and fun. Her smile would just light up the room and her laughter was contagious. She made everyone feel loved and important and those that served her in any capacity felt an instant bond with her, whether it be her health care workers or those who served her at her favorite restaurants. She was a shining beacon of light and the world will be a little dimmer without her sunshine in it. We are comforted to know she will stay near us as our guardian angel and watch over us and cheer us on throughout our lives.

A public viewing for family and friends will be held Thursday, November 19, 2020 from 6-8 pm at Larkin Mortuary (1950 E. 10600 S.) Due to COVID restrictions only 50 people will be allowed inside the building at one time and face masks are required. The family knows of your love and sorrow and regrets that hugging is not permitted for safety of everyone during this pandemic.

Funeral Services will be held for immediate family by invitation only on Friday, November 20, 2020 at 11am with a private viewing 1 hour prior to the services. All other friends and family are invited to watch the live stream of the proceedings and attend virtually.

Recording of the Funeral Services can be listened to at the following link:

Topic: Connie Robinson Funeral Service
Date: Nov 20, 2020 10:05 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Meeting Recording:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/kbgVqN9dck4H-hfeDZsN2JelKQnveLVyU8kw_5q4AhULmIWiIGNx-LYkrQRC8Kob.Gm43193Vb3RrhT7x