OBITUARY: John J. Robbins, Jr., 77

Below is an obituary from Nichols Funeral Home:

WILMINGTON, MA — John J. Robbins, Jr., fondly known as “Johnny” to family and friends, age 77, of Shrewsbury, formerly a long-time resident of Wilmington and Scituate, passed away peacefully on April 23, 2023.

John was born on February 24, 1946, in Charlestown, MA; he was the dear son of the late Jack and Eleanor Robbins. John grew up in Wilmington where he made many life-long friends; he attended Wilmington public schools and was a graduate of Wilmington High School with the Class of 1963. Throughout his life, John, was an excellent athlete who excelled at any sport he tried; he was a star baseball player for the Wilmington Wildcats and part of the “greatest baseball team in Wilmington’s history”.

John married his “high school sweetheart” Joanne Shelley over 54 years ago; the couple lived in Wilmington for several years and then to New Hampshire for a brief period of time before they settled in Scituate in the early 1980’s. John fell in love with Scituate he referred to it as the “Irish Riviera”; he was always out and about in the community and everyone knew John with his outgoing and boisterous personality. He could always be recognized by his license plate “JR 40” or by his boat dubbed the “Leprechaun”.

John and Joanne had three beautiful children and were blessed with 10 grandchildren. John enjoyed spending time with his family and they made many great memories together throughout the years.

John worked hard throughout his life; he was so proud to be a Union Carpenter with Local 40 out of Cambridge and he made many great friends with his co-workers throughout the years.

In his spare time, John and Joanne enjoyed traveling; they spent the first few weeks of every year in Aruba and looked forward to “cousins” weekends on Cape Cod at the Irish Cottage.

John will be remembered as an AVID Boston sports fan; he rarely missed a Bruins, Red Sox, or Patriots game, whether he was watching on television or at the various parks and stadiums.

John was such a presence who touched so many lives; he will forever be loved and missed by all who knew him.

John was the beloved husband of Joanne Robbins (Shelley), devoted father of Sheila Flanagan & husband Mike of Worcester, Shelley Robbins of Weymouth, and the late John J. Robbins III, dear “Grampy” of Regan, Ryan, Emily, Patrick, Meah, Sean, Jamie, Caitlin, Nicolette, and great-granddaughter Zoey. Son of the late John “Jack” and Eleanor (Doherty) Robbins, brother of Janice Arsenault of Lovell, ME. John is also survived by his former daughter-in-law of Judy Galvin, as well as many brothers and sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Family and friends will gather for Visitation at the Nichols Funeral Home, 187 Middlesex Ave. (Rte. 62), Wilmington, on Saturday, April 29th at 10:00 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Dorothy’s Church, Main St. (Rte. 38), Wilmington, at 11:30 a.m. Interment Wildwood Cemetery, Wilmington.

To leave a message of condolence for the family please visit our website at http://www.nicholsfuneralhome.com.