ROBIN R. SHANKS
Robin Renee Barnes Shanks, one of three daughters of Gerald and Wanda (Wilcox) Barnes, was born April 30, 1954, in Lincoln, Nebraska. As her family moved around Nebraska Robin attended several schools, notably North Loup and Norfolk, before graduating from Superior High School. She attended Southeast Community College and earned a degree as a dental assistant.
On June 9, 1984 Robin married Raymond Shanks at Coryell Park near Brock, Nebraska. Ray welcomed Robin’s daughter Shelly as his own, and the family made their home in rural Stella, Nebraska. Following job opportunities, the family moved to Geneva, Omaha, and Aurora before moving to Kearney in 2018.
Throughout her time in the workplace Robin was an office manager for attorneys, state legislators, the Nebraska State Accountability and Disclosure Office, and her church. While living in Omaha she and Ray developed a passion for providing foster care to youth. Through this devotion they were fortunate to be able to adopt and become loving parents of Zachary Scott Shanks and later Alexander Joseph Shanks.
In her early years Robin was a member of Girl Scouts and Job’s Daughters and currently was a member of First Lutheran Church in Kearney. Her interests were varied and included searching for and collecting antiques, shopping, decorating her house, gardening, and cross-stitching. She was an avid reader and loved music. Most of all she adored her grandkids and doting on them.
Robin began her bout with cancer in 1995. In 2020 the disease became more aggressive and spread to more areas of her body. In May on 2021 Ray took time from work to care for her at home and then enlisted the help of St. Croix Hospice. On Sunday, June 20, 2021, surrounded by family, Robin passed away at her home in Kearney, Nebraska. Her mother Wanda and nephew Thomas Martin preceded her in death.
Among the many who will miss her and cherish there time with Robin are her husband Ray; daughter Shelly Doehring of Council Bluffs, Iowa; sons Zac and Alex of Kearney; grandsons Landon Lee James and Finley Thomas Alexander Doehring; her father Gerald of Kearney; sisters and brothers-in-law Michelle and Mark Harris of Riverton, Wyo.; Kristin and Stuart Martin of Tampa, Fla.; sister-in-law Marilyn and husband Jim Findlay of Stella; brother-in-law Bill and wife Bonnie Shanks of Stella; 12 nieces and nephews; many other relatives and friends.
A funeral service will be Friday, June 25, 11 a.m. at Hemmingsen Funeral Home in Auburn. Burial will follow in St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery at Auburn.
Memorials are suggested to family choice for later designation.
Services are entrusted to Hemmingsen Funeral Home in Auburn.