Josephine "Jo" L. Robinson

Josephine Lillian Marfio Robinson, age 103, joined the Lord in Heaven on December 23, 2024, where she was met by her husband of 51 years, Robert (Bob) Lee Robinson, parents Joseph and Maria Marfio, brothers Sam, Bennie, Steve, Pete, Frank and Jack, sisters Lillie and Rose, and so many more of her generation on both sides of the family that preceded her there.

Her immediate family includes daughter Mary Jane (Richard) Schaulin, son Charles (Sharon) Robinson, grandchildren Jeffrey and Jennifer Schaulin, Todd and Julie Robinson, four great grandchildren and five great, great grandchildren, loving aunt to 18 nieces and nephews, and friend to so many.

Josephine, Jo to her family and friends, was born the eighth of nine children on April 22, 1921 in Murphysboro, IL to Sicilian immigrants, Joseph and Maria Marfio. A month before her fourth birthday, she and her mother survived the Great Tri-state Tornado of 1925 that killed 234 people in Murphysboro and 695 across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. On Jan 22, 1929, two months before her eighth birthday, her father was killed in a mine accident, leaving her mother a widow with nine kids to care for.

Jo was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school through Eighth Grade then joined her siblings at age 15 at the local Brown Shoe factory to help support her family.

When Jo was 19, she met the love of her life, Bob Robinson, a farmer six years her senior from nearby Carbondale, IL, and they were soon married in the fall of 1940. A little over a year later, they welcomed daughter Mary Jane; four years later, son Charles would follow.

After serving for a short time in the Navy at the end of WWII, Bob returned to his job at the Kroger warehouse in Carbondale, where the family had moved in 1942, and bought a small house in 1946. After the kids started school, Jo earned her GED high school diploma and attended Cosmetology school to fulfill her life-long dream of becoming a beautician.

Jo opened her first beauty shop, Kut & Kurl, in the basement of her home on January 22, 1955. When the closing of the Kroger warehouse forced the family to move to St. Charles, MO in 1963, Jo opened her second in-home shop, Swirl & Kurl, on November 18, 1963, where she would finish a career of 57 years as a beautician at the age of 91.

While raised Catholic, Jo joined the First Baptist Church of Carbondale in 1954 and made Samuel Robinson, her father-in-law, the first of the many that she led to the Lord, by getting him to join her and Mary Jane in baptism. Jo and Bob became valued members of the church and the family life centered around it – if the church doors were open, the Robinsons were there, with Bob serving as a Deacon and Sunday school teacher and Jo baking pies and cakes for gatherings. The same would hold true when they joined the First Baptist Church of St. Charles, MO in 1963. To the end, Jo’s life’s mission was bringing souls to the Lord.

Jo never met a stranger and always sought to help others. Her outgoing, energetic personality and gift for gab charmed all who met her and she left an indelible impression on them. Her first question was often, “Do you know the Lord?” and invite them to church if they didn’t.

Joesphine was the Energizer Bunny who had to constantly be busy doing something and always wanted to be around people. Even as a widow for 33 years, Jo lived life to the fullest in the service of the Lord. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation in her name to the First Baptist Church of St. Charles, your church or charity of your choice.