Robyn Gay Trelease

On Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020, Robyn Gay Trelease, 72, passed peacefully away in Lakeview after a short illness that lasted an additional seven miraculous years.

Robyn was born in Klamath Falls on March 16, 1948. After moving to Lake County, she joked that she had arrived on earth just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. She graduated from Klamath Union and went on to OIT (then Oregon Technical Institute). After college, she worked as a dental assistant until the rails called her name.

Born into a railroading family with a grandfather, father, and uncle who were all freight train conductors for the Great Northern. She began work as a station agent in Merrill in 1969, at a time when few women held jobs with the railroad. Following the rails north, she was transferred by Burlington Northern to Seattle and then to New Westminster, BC as a dispatcher. In 1980, with perseverance, hard work, and courage, she enrolled in the six-month engineering program. When she took her engineer’s final exam, she scored the highest marks in her class. She was the first woman locomotive engineer in British Columbia and one of very few throughout Canada and the United States. Robyn never thought of herself as a pioneer, she just wanted to do a job she loved.

After nearly 20 years with the railroad, she chose to retire from the rails. She worked several jobs until moving to Lake County and becoming the postmaster in Adel for 11 years. She loved watching the children grow up and chatting with the older people in the valley as they picked up their mail.

She was kind…spunky…loving… funny…enjoyed an adventure…and was a great listener. While living quite a story herself, she was never happier than when she could sit down with a cup of coffee and hear the stories of friends and strangers who soon became friends. Robyn gathered people to her and kept those friendships throughout her life, held in her heart. To all of you, she loved you and remembered what made you special to her always.

Diagnosed in 2013 with a terminal illness, she was known to her family, friends, caregivers, and even her doctor as ‘the miracle’ for the seven years she stayed with us. She drew on an inner strength, her sense of humor, and her love for those around her throughout those seven years. How lucky we were to have shared in her life.

Robyn was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Ruth Trelease; and niece, Lindsey Trelease.

She is survived by her husband, Robert Schildt; son, Gaspar Schildt; brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Lois Trelease; brother, Don Trelease; sister and brother-in-law, Carmen and John Bair; nephews and nieces who knew and loved their auntie; close friend and special sister, Sally Fitzgerald.

A memorial service will be held at Egan Park in Plush on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, at 4 p.m., preceding the lighting of the Community Tree, a celebration she loved.

Memorial donations can be made to the Lake County Library Endowment Fund, PO Box 44, Lakeview, OR 97630; Lake County Home Health and Hospice, 700 S. J St., Lakeview, OR 97630; Warner Valley First Responders, PO Box 1007, Lakeview, OR; or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Desert Rose Funeral Chapel is in charge of Robyn’s care.

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