Robyn Whitehill-Dinda
Lifelong Resident of Litchfield

Robyn Whitehill-Dinda, 65, a lifelong resident of Litchfield passed away on Wednesday December 3rd as the result of an unfortunate journey with cancer. She was surrounded by her loving family and childhood friends.
Robyn was born December 21, 1948 to Stanley Alverson and Evelyn May (Newton) Whitehill.
Robyn’s life and interests were beautifully spotlighted in a recent White Memorial Foundation newsletter:

There could be no better volunteer to feature in our winter edition of SANCTUARY than Litchfield native Robyn Whitehill-Dinda. "I love the coziness of winter...pot of soup on the stove... going out at 10 PM to shovel snow. I love to rake leaves and shovel snow!" The depth of Robyn's love for being outdoors in any season (particularly autumn and winter) began as a child growing up on the same street in Litchfield where she lives today. "The neighborhood was filled with kids and dogs. I'd wear my pj's over my play clothes so I could just get up in the morning and go play."
With White Memorial literally in her back yard, Robyn, along with her two sisters and brother (Diane, Gail, & Keith), had plenty of elbow room in which to discover nature. Winters provided ice skating on Duck Pond or cross-country skiing with their father. In summer she'd mount her 36" Columbia bicycle — the one with no brakes — and, wearing no helmet and no knee pads, go careening around Bantam Lake. "I dragged my feet along the road. There were always holes in the soles of my shoes."
Many of us know Robyn as The Queen of the Bantam River. Robyn’s interest in kayaking began over a decade ago on a whim. She took classes and even dabbled in white water kayaking on the Shepaug River. Today the popular interpretive kayak trips she leads along the Bantam River attract legions of boaters. Her passion for sharing the beauty of the river is infectious.
In recent years, Robyn became a Master Wildlife Conservationist for the Connecticut DEP — something else about which she is extremely passionate, "from managing mosquitoes to beavers to pine forests...I'd love to do this every day of my life." These credentials certainly have come in handy when she volunteers to help WMCC Research Director James Fischer with his projects. Over several years, Robyn has assisted with vernal pool monitoring, deer density survey, frog survey, and salamander cover board research. About Fischer she says, "I just think his energy is contagious. He lights up and everyone in the room gets fired up too!" Takes one to know one!
Robyn has worked at the Torrington Savings Bank for fifteen years and has two adult children, Amy Dinda-Jones and Timothy Dinda, who (go figure) love the outdoors! She also served as the Litchfield Hills Audubon Society's Vice President and is a Junior Audubon chairperson as well as hospitality chair. "They speak my language". "Our children should be outdoors!”. Her nephews, Michael Marciano and Geoffrey Houser, have benefited for years from Robyn’s Natural tutelage. Now, her grandson, Logan Dinda, is the joyful recipient of all of Robyn's experiences and outdoor passions.
There is no room in her life for television. In her free time, Robyn loves to paint. She is self taught and incredibly good! Her favorite subjects are taken from nature...a pine grove on a frozen day...and geese...she adores geese!
In the future her dream is to answer a calling to climb Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro. Next summer she will travel to Iceland on a natural history exploration of the remote northwest fjords, surveying majestic bird cliffs in search of puffins, hiking rugged landscapes, and dipping her toes in geothermal pools dating back a thousand years to the Sagas.
Robyn Whitehill-Dinda truly personifies Nature...a breath of spring, a bolt of lightning, a rushing river, a perfect snowflake, a soaring hawk, a graceful doe...another beautiful fixture we are so grateful to have here at White Memorial.

Robyn will be very much missed by her family and her many friends and associates. Every person, adult, and child who has ever crossed her path has become a better individual for having known her.

An informal gathering will be held for friends and relatives in the White Memorial Foundation Museum, 80 Whitehall Road , Litchfield on FRIDAY evening, December 12th , from 6:00 to 9:00pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:

White Memorial Conservation Center, Inc. (WMCC)
P.O. Box 368
Litchfield, CT 06759
or
The Litchfield Hills Audubon Society (LHAS)
PO Box 861
Litchfield, CT 06759

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