Virgie Robinson was born to sharecroppers Pearlie Lee (Gill) Chambers and Shepherd “Red” Chambers on December 6, 1919, in Memphis, Tennessee. They named her Virgin Mary Chambers .
As a young girl, she relocated with her family to Gary, Indiana, and then on to Saginaw, Michigan where she spent the remainder of her pre-adult years. Her mother began to experience a series of on-going health challenges and Virgie, being the eldest of four children, had to grow up rapidly by forsaking school and enter the work force to assist in providing for the family.
She met Richard Robinson in 1941 and married him on October 14, 1945, in Tacoma, Washington. He tagged her with his own term of endearment, “Cherie”, from a popular song back in the 1940's; a name by which many of her close friends call her to this day. Richard was stationed with the U.S. Navy in Seattle, so they settled there until 1947 when they relocated to Pasco.
Richard went to work as a carpenter and together they established the Queen Street Diner (a.k.a. The Squeeze In”), specializing in Texas Fried Chicken. It quickly became the "place to be" for the fast growing African American community in the Tri-Cities during the early post World War II era. Both were exceptionally good cooks as well as people persons having spent years, on separate paths, working professionally in the hospitality industry for over 10 years throughout Texas, Arizona, Michigan and Illinois.
Life in Pasco also brought forth the addition of children which moved both Virgie and Richard to adjust their lifestyle. One of the first things they did upon arrival in Pasco was to unite with St. James C.M.E. Church, where she and her whole family were very active for many years. Virgie began to exhibit a new vision. Soon she became more involved with the community and the school system. She returned to school and obtained her GED and went on to pursue college credits at Columbia Basin Community College. She was hired on as part of the team for the YMCA's Higher Horizon, became involved with the Chinook Council of the Camp Fire Girls, the 4-H Club and the NAACP. Her natural leadership skills inspired the city of Pasco to hire her as the first director of the Kurtzman Park Community Center in 1965; where she established a community library for the kids in the neighborhood. She was a strong community advocate, working shoulder to shoulder with many including Washington State representatives Charles Kilbury, Pat Cochran and eventual Civil Rights Director, Art Fletcher. In 1966, she was voted Washington State's Woman of Achievement for cities over 12,000; quite a feat during a national environment of social and racial unrest.
Dr. Lewis Ferrari, Superintendent of the Pasco School District #1 hired Virgie in 1966, to be an Ombudsman (Home Visitor) for the district. Virgie immediately exhibited extraordinary skills as an outreach worker and family advocate. She eventually became the Director/Supervisor over this Title I program and many past students in Pasco attributed their high school graduation to the encouragement and persistence she shared with them. She was very active, influential and loved throughout the African American and Hispanic migrant communities. Her influence was recognized and respected throughout the entire state to the degree that in 1987, Governor Booth Gardner appointed her to the Washington State Council on Voluntary Action.
Virgie passed away, Friday, August 22, 2003, leaving to mourn her departure her devoted husband, Richard; four children and their spouses; son, Rickie (Rosalyn); daughters, La Tanya (Joseph); Tammie (Ricky); and Tovia (Harvey) and a great niece she raised as a daughter, Krisandra Williams. She also will be missed by her sister, brother and a host of devoted nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends, many of whom referred to her as “Aunt Virgie”.
The Pasco School District #1 voted unanimously on February 15, 2005, to name elementary school #11 in her honor. The Virgie Robinson Elementary School opened for business on August 30, 2005 with a student population of 600 students. By 2015, the explosive growth of Pasco students, the student population had expanded to nearly 800.