January 8, 1982 - December 20, 2023
Robin Kathleen (Lenz) Henson was born January 8, 1982 in Englewood, Colorado. Her parents, Jim & Leslie Lenz, brought her home to the farm in Wray, Colorado & it was the beginning of many adventures. Robin started talking at an early age. At 17 months old when going to the softball field and watching her dad’s fast pitch games, her first sentence was, “OH BOY, BALL-PARK, HOT DOG, SUCKER!” From then on, she never stopped talking.
At age 2-1/2 while at a VERY FANCY restaurant, she started singing her favorite song, “Oh we ain’t got a barrel of money, maybe we’re ragged & funny, but we’re travelling along, singin a song side by side.” We knew then she was full of personality and the ride would never be boring. This should have been a sign of the beginning of all her shenanigans.
At age 4, Robin was excited to welcome her little brother, Drake, into our family. She was never jealous, just very helpful, carefully holding and rocking him & treating him like one of her baby dolls. As he grew into a toddler, she would try to keep him in line, but he was a climber & she was always trying to keep him safe, an indication of her future vocation.
Robin never knew a stranger. She made friends wherever she went. Fast forward to this past summer waiting to board a plane to Phoenix for another appointment at Mayo Clinic. She & another lady began visiting, and were soon laughing. I don’t know which one was laughing harder, but soon they were trading contact information and became texting buddies.
When Robin was a young girl, she & her Arizona cousin, Megan, wrote their names backwards & decided to call each other those names, thus Robin spelled backwards was “Nibor” & Megan was “Nagem.”
Robin graduated from Wray High School in 2000, went on to graduate from University of Northern Colorado, and received her masters degree from University of Denver in Social Work. She became a child protection caseworker in Kit Carson County, later in Otero County, and next in Washington County, wherever her husband’s job took them. She was an advocate for the children who didn’t have a voice. Keeping children safe was her passion, & it involved many aspects. It was gut wrenching at times. She felt “called” to help these innocent children & make sure they had loving families, whatever that looked like.
Robin married Dave Henson in 2003 and with this union, 2 children were born, a daughter, Kiersen, and 2 years later, a son, Reagan. Robin absolutely loved being a mother; taking care of her children daily meant just as much as having fun adventures with them. Through the years and the development of Robin’s health issues, Kiersen & Reagan became wise beyond their years. They were by her side through all of her surgeries in Arizona and Florida. They took on so many responsibilities in a loving way, & NEVER complained. THEY HAVE BEEN AMAZING! They have shown kindness & empathy as Robin taught them. Robin loves them to the moon & back, just as they love her.
If someone needed help, Robin was there in an instant, whether it be emotional support, nursing help with grandparents or helping on a project. Gardening, canning & wine making Robin did with ease. Competing with her dad & cousins with the garden entries at the county fair was serious business. She was already secretly planning her garden for this spring. Reagan has also been secretly planning his own garden, hoping to win the competition. Kiersen has cheered them on as gardening is not her thing. But she would keep the household going indoors, singing & dancing through it all! Kiersen was excited about having her mom teach her to drive; a task they began 2 months ago. Emree, Robin’s niece, makes her laugh and reminds her of Drake.
When Robin was planning her next shenanigan, she ALWAYS made sure we knew her motto: “CONFUSE, DON’T ABUSE.” And she did confuse us! This brings in the shenanigan called “Operation Blue Bear.” When Robin was a young girl, she made a small ceramic bear, painted it blue & gave it to her mom as a gift. Robin hated it, & thought it was so ugly. But, of course, her mom loved it. Fast forward to a couple of years ago, Robin co-opted her cousin, Kylee, to sneak into Robin’s parents house (Jim & Les) & take Blue Bear. Les noticed Blue Bear was missing & asked Jim & Robin about it. They denied knowing anything. Months went by & Les was getting a bit frustrated when no one would fess up to his whereabouts. She knew Robin was up to something, a shenanigan! Robin finally said that Blue Bear was safe, gave her a few hints & Les decided Blue Bear would be back & “HAD BETTER BE IN ONE PIECE!” Well, unknown to Les, Blue Bear travelled from the west coast to the east coast stopping at many places along the way. Robin had friends & relatives take Blue Bear for a day outing & they had to take a photo of them holding blue bear, & write a story about their adventure & include a small souvenir for Blue Bear before sending him off to the next person on the list. Robin had her dad make a wooden box to hold all of Blue Bear’s souvenirs, the small photo album & the stories of his adventures & a letter from Robin to her mom. Then at the end of the year, Robin gave it to her mom for a Christmas gift! BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT EVER! Of course, her mom cried! By now, you can only imagine the many other shenanigans Robin co-opted her friends & family in on, all the while she lived 6 hours away in Salida. With having had 4 brain surgeries in 2-1/2 years Robin needed humor in her life – for her life to feel “somewhat normal.”
One day, when Robin was having a discussion with her dad about gardening, cabbages became a topic. Of course, Robin took that & ran with it. “Cabbaging became a thing & cabbages or cabbage leaves were found everywhere. This time Robin co-opted her cousin, Dani, to sneak into Jim & Les’s house, once again, & leave a cabbage patch doll on their bed with cabbage leaves surrounding it. Dani quietly took a video of her work in progress & narrated it along the way with the Pink Panther music playing in the background. On Robins next trip to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Aunt Annette presented Jim with a pink panther stuffed animal. And of course, Robin had her Aunt Carrie make cabbage soup & had it simmering on her parents stove just before they arrived home. So remember her motto was “CONFUSE, DON’T ABUSE.” And that she did! So, of course, this started the idea of cabbage bowling. Yep, that’s right. The next time you see cabbage bowling during Wray Daze, it was the brain child of Robin & she co-opted her dad into making the bowling lanes. It became a Knights of Columbus fund-raiser during Wray Daze. Robin lived in Salida, yet this became a Wray hometown gig! Again, the shenanigans are what kept her sane, & her children are what kept her going! There are so many Robin stories that her family will forever have in their memories & now you all will too.
Robin’s health issues became more than her body could handle! She passed away peacefully at Anschutz Medical Center on December 20, 2023. She is re-united with her brother, Drake, & between the 2 of them, they are planning shenanigans from above. As Robin’s kindergarten teacher once told us at parent teachers conference, “THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER ROBIN!” We love you Robin &, yes, your giant chicken mailbox will be moved to our house for the kids & us to enjoy! REMEMBER, “CONFUSE, DON’T ABUSE.”
Robin is survived by her loving children, Kiersen & Reagan, parents, Jim & Leslie Lenz, special niece, Emree Lenz & Grandma Betty Lenz, along with an army of aunts, uncles & cousins. She is also survived by her mother-in-law, Judy Henson, in-laws Jim & Kelli Henson & their family Jarred, Nicolette & Aviana; Skylar & Jordan; Josh Henson & daughter Autumn, and Aunt Jaymie Temanson.
Robin was predeceased by her husband, Dave, her brother, Drake, uncle Vernon Bingham, cousin Jessi Lenz, and grandparents, George Lenz (SR), Vern & Millie Bingham & Uncle Jerry Temanson.
Rosary will be held on Thursday, December 28, 2023 from 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. at the St. Andrew The Apostle Catholic Church in Wray, Colorado.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, December 29, 2023, 11:00 a.m. at the St. Andrew The Apostle Catholic Church in Wray, Colorado. Inurnment will be held in the Grandview Cemetery in Wray, Colorado. Memorials may be made to the Mayo Clinic, 5777 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, Arizona 85054.
Schmidt-Jones Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.
