Obituaries : * Jack W. Robinson; Furniture Manufacturer

Jack W. Robinson of Camarillo, a retired furniture manufacturer, died Sunday of cancer at St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo. He was 77.

Born in Bakersfield, Robinson moved with his family to Santa Ana as a boy, where he made a name as a golfing protege, said his wife, Colleen. He won his first golf tournament at age 14 and earned a scholarship to USC.

“That didn’t happen very often back then, but he was really good,” his wife said. “He wouldn’t have been able to afford college otherwise.”

During World War II, Robinson entered the Navy but never left land, his wife said. After the war, he went into business manufacturing and selling office furniture, but kept golfing almost every day.

“He was asked to go pro, but back in those days they didn’t make any money,” she said.

Eventually, Robinson and a partner started Wesley Freeman, an office furniture company that specialized in wood furnishings. The pair sold the company in 1985, and Robinson retired.

He continued his golfing, maintaining a single-digit handicap until he developed cancer three years ago, his wife said.

“He was committed,” she said. “He practiced every day and played probably twice a week.”

The pair lived on a golf course in San Gabriel for several years, and when they moved to Ventura County they picked a home next to the Las Posas Country Club, she said.

He is survived by his wife; two daughters, Linda Crane of Salem, Ore., and Judith Nelson of Corona del Mar; a son, Donald Robinson of Morro Bay; two granddaughters, and a sister, Ardith Gonsoulin.

Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Las Posas Country Club in Camarillo. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.