Abbie Robinson, 95, of Indiana and formerly of Colts Neck, passed away at Prairie Lakes Health Campus in Noblesville on Wednesday, May 3. She was born in Allendale on March 16, 1922. She married Alexander D. Bialy in January of 1944 and they had a daughter. They were separated in 1952 and subsequently divorced. Abbie married John Robinson in March of 1965. They were married for 32 years and resided in Matawan and Colts Neck until his death in August of 1997. Although Abbie reluctantly moved to Indiana in June of 2000 to be near her family, Abbie remained a “Jersey” girl until the day she died.
What Abbie was most proud of in her life was her professional accomplishments. She started her career in 1962 in Human Resource Management, holding positions with Owens-Illinois, The Nestle Company, and was corporate director of employee relations for Orlane/Halston Fragrances until her retirement in 1983.
In the late 1970s, she was elected president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Society for Personnel Administration; followed by regional treasurer. She was nominated by the organization for a 20-day goodwill mission to the Peoples Republic of China through People-to-People, founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In 1982 she was the recipient of the “Woman of the Year Award,” for her innovative concepts in hiring the displaced homemaker, senior citizens and students on a part-time basis presented by the Raritan Chambers of Commerce of Central New Jersey.
In January 1985, she contributed to a textbook titled “Supervisory Management – Guidelines for Application,” published by Prentice Hall, that was used to assist corporations in staff training and development. Abbie served on the Board of the Women’s Center and advisor for Personnel Management at Brookdale Community College and received the National Alliance of Business award for distinguished service as a loaned executive in advancing the cause of providing economic opportunity for the disadvantaged, youth, veterans and ex-offenders.
Abbie is survived by her daughter, Pat (Shep) Beyland of Carmel; a granddaughter, Amanda (Kurt) Olsan of Noblesville; a grandson, Keith (Vanessa) Beyland of Portland, Maine; and three great-grandchildren, Dean Olsan, Calista Olsan and Keely Beyland. In addition to family members, she still had two friends from high school that she communicated with regularly and were a very important part of Abbie’s life: Annette Zeisler of Boynton Beach, Florida, and Peggy Knipper of Whiting.
Flanner and Buchanan-Carmel are in charge of arrangements. Funeral services will be held at a later date in New Jersey. Abbie loved her pets, Sheba, Diamond, Sam, Zach, Winky and Abbey. If you would like to honor Abbie’s life, donations can be made to the Noblesville (Indiana) Humane Society in her name. The family would like to thank the crew at the Prairie Lakes’ Monon nurses’ station for their love and compassion.
