Marie Eileen (Hockett) RobinsonBeloit, KS

Marie Eileen (Hockett, Wagner) Robinson departed this earthly plane on May 8, 2026. Marie entered this world on September 30, 1943, born to Hazel Lavern (Parsons) Hockett and Dallas Faye Hockett in Junction City, KS. Following Marie, two brothers, Estel and Darrel, were also born to this union. This union was dissolved when all the children were less than five years old, and Hazel was left to raise the children on her own. The family lived in Concordia, KS, then Glasco, KS, eventually settling in Beloit, KS, where they were living when Hazel died of a brain tumor at the age of 34.

Marie, who was 14 years old at the time, was offered a home to live in by two different families, but chose to live with Neva (Golladay) Wagner and Leroy Wagner. Neva and Leroy welcomed her and officially became her parents when they adopted her at the age of 17.

Marie first attended grade school in Glasco, KS, then Rodgers Grade School in Beloit, KS, eighth grade at Field School, and then graduated from Beloit High School in the Class of 1961. After graduating high school, Marie would attend Brown Mackie Business School in Salina, KS, along with her high school friend, Pauline (File) Schlaefli. Marie liked to share the story of buying her first legal 6-pack of beer at the Cozy Inn, which was just down the street from her and Pauline’s apartment building.

In September of 1962, Marie married Kenneth Dean Robinson in Beloit, KS. Marie and Ken lived in Cawker City, KS, Dighton, KS, near Ft. Bragg, NC during Ken’s military service, back to Beloit, KS, then settled in Glasco, KS. After moving to Glasco, their daughter, Stephanie Jane (Robinson) Schmeck was born in 1969, and a son, Ryan Kenneth Robinson, was born in 1972. After 19 years of marriage, this union was dissolved.

Marie worked hard to raise her children as a single parent in Beloit, often working more than one job to make ends meet. Having accomplished this task, she set her sights on getting a college degree and went back to school at the age of 50. Marie attended Cloud County Community College then transferred to Ft. Hay State University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Social Work in 1997. She then went on to earn her Master’s of Social Work at New Mexico Highlands University in 1998.

After working in New Mexico for two years, Marie moved back to Kansas in 2000 after her first grandchild, Paige Marie Robinson, was born, followed by Connor Leroy Schmeck in 2001, and Kamee Jean Robinson in 2002.

Upon her return to Kansas, Marie worked as a mental health therapist at St. Francis Academy in Ellsworth. She then went to work for Central KS Mental Health Center in Salina, where she earned her LSCSW, retiring in 2010 after seven years of service.

Marie relied on her love of reading, painting, and gardening to relieve the stress of retirement. She entered her painting and mixed media pieces in the county fair each summer, earning numerous ribbons, and also enjoyed participating in the yearly Art is Ageless competition for artists 65 and older. In 2021 her mixed media piece, Marvelous Marbles, appeared on the front cover of the Art is Ageless calendar and she was invited to meet Governor Laura Kelly in Wichita. Marie never sold a piece of her art, because she loved sharing her pieces with family and friends.

Marie was thankful for her exceptionally good health in all her 82 years of life, even after being a two time breast cancer survivor. She lived the motto “quality over quantity” after having been first diagnosed at the age of 79, and was able to get a little over three more years of quality before the cancer won.

Preceding her in death, her parents Neva and Leroy Wagner, her lifetime idol, her grandmother Matilda Parsons, her brother Estel Hockett, special friend Jim Thompson, and others who touched her life throughout her many years.

Left to mourn, but also celebrate all the things she brought to our lives, are her daughter, Stephanie, her son, Ryan, her grandchildren, Paige, Connor, and Kamee, her great-grandchild, Kai, and her brother, Darrel Keeler. Marie will also be greatly missed by numerous other friends and family members.

The family would like to thank Gentiva Hospice for Marie’s care over the last couple of months of her life. Marie did not specify any memorials, but those wishing to leave a memorial in her name could donate to libraries, art programs, local food banks, or animal rescues, as she enjoyed donating to them.

The following is a post her daughter made honoring her mom, Marie:

As some of you may already know, my Mom, Marie Robinson, saw fit to leave this world in the early morning hours of Friday, May 8. What you might not have known, was that she was diagnosed with a more rare and pretty aggressive type of breast cancer in February of 2023, again in January of 2024, leading to a DMX, and again in December of 2025 when it had gotten into her skin, bones, and then finally her liver. Cancer was only a short blip in her 82 years of life, and I'm sad it is what dictated her ending.

I had encouraged my Mom to write her own obituary. (I think we should all write our own obituaries because no one knows us better than we know ourselves.) When I brought up her writing her own obituary, she said she thought it might come off as bragging. I told her I thought the one time a person should be able to brag about themselves was when they die. We talked about it again a few days before she died. Mom said she had written some notes down, but I forgot to ask where she put them. I meant to ask her again last Friday, and I didn't get the chance. Thankfully, I found the notes while looking through some other things, and I will work on adding a few things to brag on her a little bit.

My Mom was an independent and proud person who was handed obstacles and challenges early on in her life, and she learned to successfully navigate them through her perseverance and stubbornness, while maintaining a generally positive outlook of the world and the people in it. She had a knack for making something out of nothing. She was creative and artistically talented and throughout the years loved trying different types of mediums including drawing, oil painting, watercolor, ceramics, macrame, pottery, stained glass, batik, sewing, and I'm sure numerous others I've forgotten. She also always made any house feel like a home with her flair for decorating. She never failed to be amazed by nature and would always point things out to my brother and me when we were young. She had a life long love of cats and felt lucky to share many years with some wonderful feline companions. She was an avid reader, and since we shared very similar tastes in books, we would pass them back and forth and often discuss them. She loved cooking, up until a few years ago, and we all loved eating her famous lasagna, chicken fried steak, and potato salad. She loved laughing and thought my brother and I were funny, even when she told us we were picking on her. She loved growing flowers and plants and was grateful to have had my paternal grandmother Adeline as her teacher. She loved swimming and suntanning and drinking an ice cold beer in the heat of summer because that's when it tasted the best. She loved acts of service and donating to causes she felt were worthwhile. She loved learning and tried to remain up to date on current events, even though we both agreed things seem bleak right now. She never met a stranger and would tell me about conversations she would strike up with people in waiting rooms and the interesting facts or connections she would find with them. She was always the glass half full kind of person, and I am the glass half empty kind of person. One of her favorite phrases was, "It could be worse". I started countering with, "but it could be better". She loved her family, though I know we sometimes disappointed her with decisions we made she was always there, steadfast in her support even when we pushed her away. She loved her friends, old and new. She believed in the goodness of people. She wanted to hear their stories. She hated seeing people dying from cancer who had young children who still needed them. It felt like an injustice to her.

Was my Mom a saint? She would be the first one to tell you she was far from it. She was human. Humans are complex. We do the wrong things. We say the wrong things. We try to live our lives to the best of our abilities. I truly believe my Mom tried to live her life to the best of her ability. She persevered. She endured. Even when cancer came calling, she stressed she wanted quality over quantity. Quality over quantity. We had all hoped she would have at least a few more good years, but we barely got a few more good months.

I will be eternally grateful for having been lucky enough to have her as my Mom for just over 57 years. We shared much love and many common interests, but occasionally we would fight like cats and dogs because we didn't always see eye to eye. Through it all, she was my biggest cheerleader, my rock, my guiding light, my memory keeper, and she raised me to be a competent adult. Now I have to figure out how to navigate life without her. She will always be the voice inside my head. I love her fiercely and always will.

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