Courtesy of the Robinson family
Molly Catherine Robinson, 55, of West Linn, Oregon, passed away on March 17, surrounded by family.
Born in San Diego on Oct. 1, 1970 to her surviving parents, Margie and Steve, Molly grew up with a love of reading.
Molly received her undergraduate and first graduate degrees from Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. In 2000, she graduated from Princeton University with a PhD in romance languages and literatures, specializing in medieval French literature.
In 2004, she joined the Lewis & Clark community as a French professor. In her 22 years at LC, she taught a wide range of courses, including an Inside-Out course in 2023, French historical literature surveys and numerous CORE classes. She was a dedicated and engaged educator who cared about cultivating a sense of belonging in the classroom. She brought that same dedication to her work as the faculty advisor to The Mossy Log (formerly The Pioneer Log), where she served as a mentor and advocate for student journalism beginning in 2013.
In January 2020, Molly became the director of LC’s Teaching Excellence Program. She believed in promoting inclusive teaching practices and led faculty through the changes in educational instruction brought on by the pandemic. In 2022, Molly received the David Savage Award for advancing the general academic and intellectual welfare of the college’s community of teacher-scholars.
Molly battled cancer for several years, enduring numerous treatments and therapies even as she continued to show up for her family and her community.
Molly will be dearly missed by all those who knew her. As a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, colleague, professor and mentor, she will be remembered for her open-mindedness, wisdom, patience and empathy for others. Molly left an indelible mark on this community. Her love and light will not be forgotten.
Molly is survived by her husband, Joel Pomije; her children, Atticus and Miriam, and their father, Gordon; her step-son, Elijah; her parents, Steven and Margaret Robinson; her siblings, Meg and Joe; her sister-in-law, Alicia; her niece, Maizie; and her nephews, Max and Marshall.
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