Robin Lee Nilsson, age 67, died on November 4, 2021, of complications from cancer.
Robin was born in 1954 in Palo Alto, California. She grew up in Los Altos, California with her parents Rosemary and Robert Senne, and her sister Sherrye. Inspired by books and science, after graduating high school in 1972 Robin attended UC Davis, where in 1976 she earned a B.S. in Renewable Natural Resources.
After college Robin returned to the Bay Area, securing a job at Ferry Morse Seed Company. She caught the attention of the Information Technology (IT) team by creating new ways of solving day-to-day technical problems. Robin’s interest in technology shaped her career, starting at the Measurex Corporation.
While at Measurex, Robin met Rik (Richard Nilsson). In 1982 they married at a small chapel in the Santa Cruz mountains. Just a few years later, Robin and Rik decided that California wasn’t for them and headed north to Southern Oregon. In 1984, they settled in the Little Applegate Valley area, where they lived happily in a beautifully-crafted wood cabin on 10 acres for the decades to come.
Robin’s professional endeavors progressed during these years in Oregon, ultimately spending the last 13 years of her career at Fire Mountain Gems in Grants Pass. In the 2000s, Robin took her love of making scents and soaps and turned it into a business, Waters Gulch LLC. After working craft shows on the weekends for many years, she decided it had become too much to keep up alongside her IT career (and love of books, gardening, and baking) and closed shop. She shared her soap recipe publicly so others could enjoy it, still available at watersgulch.com!
Robin was diagnosed with cancer in October 2020. Rik was by her side as she adjusted to this new reality until his unexpected death in April 2021.
A memorial service will be held for Robin on Monday, May 16, 2022, at the Eagle Point National Cemetery in Eagle Point, Oregon. Memorial donations can be made to the Susan B. Comen Breast Cancer Foundation.