| Date of Birth | May 24, 1926 |
| Passed Away | January 8, 2015 |
| Place of Residence | Avoca |
| Home State | NY |
| Service Date | January 11, 2015 |
| Service Time | 5:00 PM |
| Service Location | Avoca United Methodist Church |
| Interment Location | Nondaga Cemetery |
JOSEPH E. ROBBINS, JR.
AVOCA-Joseph E. Robbins, Jr., 88, of Loucks Pond Road, passed away early Thursday morning (Jan. 8, 2015) at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, following a brief illness.
Born in Hamlin on May 24, 1926, he was a son of the late Joseph E. Robbins, Sr. and Ethel Knowles Robbins. On Feb. 25, 1950 he married the former Doris O. Parker, at her parents’ home in Jasper; she predeceased him on May 31, 2003, after 53 years of marriage. Besides his parents and wife, he was also predeceased by his sister and brother-in-law, Norma and George Freeman.
A resident of the Avoca area for most his life, Joe was employed as a Grain Broker, farmer and horse trainer. He had an obsession for horses and harness racing and was a member of the Western NY Harness Horseman’s Association.
His loving family includes his son, Douglas Robbins of Hornell; four daughters, Joyce (Kenneth) Parsels, Tammy Jo Robbins, Jineen Geffers (Joseph Simone) and Bonnie (Kevin) Kowalcyk all of Avoca; his six grandchildren, Shawn (Stacey) Parsels, Kevin (Timon) Parsels, Angie (Dan) Hawkens, Chad (Amy) Robbins, Brittany Geffers and Nicholas Kowalcyk; his eight great-grandchildren; his two sisters, Thelma Covert and Greta (Jim) Preston; his two brothers, Albert (Vera) Robbins and Harold (Pat) Robbins; also his many nieces, nephews and his special friend, Marlea Sherwood.
The Avoca Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Joseph E. Robbins, Jr.
Calling hours are from 2-5 p.m. Sunday at the Avoca United Methodist Church, Jacobs Ladder Road, where a funeral service will be held following calling hours at 5 p.m. Sunday, with Pastor Barre Butts officiating. Interment will be in Nondaga Cemetery, Bath.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing may contribute in his memory to Arc of Steuben, 1 Arc Way, Bath, N.Y. 14810.
Jineen, Bonnie and the Robbins family, condolences on your loss, Joe was a good dude.
Love you Uncle Joe. Rest in Peace. Your family, and friends will all miss you very very much.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the Robbins family we lost a true pioneer in the sport of harness racing.God Bless RIP
What I will remember most about Joe is hi love of harness horses fair racing and his gratefulness towards his children who always seemed more than willing to help him racing at the fairs and regular paramutual races. Will certainly miss seeing him around the track.
Sonny and I send our condolences, thoughts and prayers to Joes family. We just want to say what a great friend, neighbor, and customer Joe was. We are really going to miss him driving by and randomly stopping just to chat. One thing for sure in his trucking days Joe knew every dinner in New York and Pennsylvania. He was a great guy and will be missed by many.
May God Bless You All
Every time I saw Joe at the fairs he always had a smile on his face. He loved the fairs and racing. Joe was a special person and I will miss seeing him at the fairs and the awards dinners. He seemed to get an award every year.
So sorry for your loss Timon, Kevin, Ariel and Aida.
We will always remember the years of friendship that we have had and the years of good times that we have had. He will be greatly missed and loved by us.
So sorry to hear of your Dad’s passing. A dedicated horseman; he will be missed by many at the fairs and racetrack.
We are so sorry for your loss. Joe was a beloved friend. We truly enjoyed seeing him at the fair while he was racing as well as he came to Vernon to race. You are all in our prayers.
Tammy, Bonnie and Juneen,
Pick am so sorry to hear of your dad’s passing. He will be greatly missed by many.
I for one will miss his presence at the fairs!
Take care!
My prayers are with you all. I have great memories of your dad. You are all a great family and I miss you all.
Just wanted to say to the family how sorry we are for your loss. He and your family were great people. Loved racing with you all, you were all so friendly and helpful. Loved seeing him in the paddock and kitchen in his ever popular scooter. He will be missed. Bless you all.
I really had a great time racing and owning horses with Joe.He will be dearly missed.We sure had a lot of good times together.My sympathy to the family
We are so sorry for your loos and the loss to the harness racing community. Joe so loved his horses and will be sadly missed.
Dave and Allison Firmstone