Sorry to hear about your Dad. I finally got to meet him at the Ice Cream Social at MME. I didnt realize he would be there, and it worked out that I got to drive over for the night. He acted like I had known him for years. Some people you wish you would've gotten to spend more time with, and he was one of those people. I'll be praying for your family.

Matt, I am sincerely sorry to hear about the loss for your family.  Robin was a great guy and a good friend. 

Many years ago, I met him on this message board (bored, as he'd refer to it); he was at that time an anonymous character who typed from the other side of the screen.  Our friendship grew, as we shared experiences and humorous anecdotes.  Then, some years later, he asked if I was attending IMM2007 and if we could hang out together.  So, with a bit of coordination, we spent close to a week together - the miserably wet & muddy IMM weekend followed by some days based from my hovel.  His visit cemented our friendship, he always asked how my wife, 'Hyacinth' was doing, and I knew that if I ever passed through North-by-God-Royalton, I had 'couch platinum' status - even though I did call him Ned Flanders on occasion, it was all good.

We wrote frequently, and I know the struggle he faced.  With limited options and the writing on the wall, his sense of humor was enviable.

Here's a quick quote from en E-mail I received on 20Aug15; I hope you don't mind:

"But, the docs say that the only solution left on the pump is to replace it with a good used one. No core charge! And they won't replace the pump without changing the filter. (kidney) So, it would be a double transplant."

I don't know that I can realy write any more, I'm really sad.

I'll miss him, please let him know that he touched us.

Edit:  Added some pictures from IMM2007

Here's Zip @ the 2013 Mid-Ohio Historics, the precursor to 2014's Mini 55 Challenge. This was not long after his second open-heart surgery, where a much slimmer and very measured Zip came out with noticeably less energy.  I was so glad to see him make the short drive down from, as he would always say, "North By God Royalton" to see the British Car Show on Saturday.  Here, he's using his treasured Rolleiflex camera that he inherited from his dad. A film man still rocking in the digital age. He certainly danced to his own tune, and it wasn't hard to hear his music if you were a friend.

 

Matt - condolences to you, your mom, and your family. Thank you for your post, as your dad was an icon here, as I am sure you will read in the coming days ...

I will find more pictures to fill this thread as time goes by, but for now, here's a picture of Zip taken back in 2004 at one of his (our) favorite haunts, Mid-Ohio. We were attending the annual GT-5 Party in the paddock as was custom, where burgers, dogs, and the late Charlie Pollet's (cosmowog) famous chilis were offered up. Zip is seen here doing his best to sample the menu.

Hope sprang eternal from Zip. We go back a long way, now. We have criss-crossed the east coast and midwest meeting up at show and racing venues for well over a decade. Travels and adventures at the various SCCA Runoff locations were our highlights....Mid-Ohio, Topeka (WTF were they thinking there, eh, Zip?), and finally Road America. Epic fun at every one as Zip, Scargo, N.J. , Big Al (minimover49),now and again mini25, and even Willie, cosmowog, and many others came out to play. Our last sojurn together was to the distinctly frozen tundra of Road America a few years ago where it was 40 degrees and WINDY every day.  How did Zip handle it? He went to the farm store and bought himself an Elmer Fudd wool hat, complete with red plaid and ear flaps!

As y'all can read from other board members, he was one of those characters in our lives that stood out. And with good reason.  He was genuine, smart, funny, intuitive and a keen observer/commentator of the human condition. ALWAYS had a joke, had a story, had time to talk. He went through agonizing health issues for many years, but always greeted you with a smile, a handshake with a hug, and a story to tell. Just in the past week or so, he called me to talk about his latest challenge and was still ebullient, though he had all the technicalities of his road ahead mentally catalogued.

This past Monday, I sent him a quick note to check on his progress at the Cleveland Clinic.  He was their biggest supporter, always marvelling at how he KNEW he was at one of the few facilities that in the world that could, had and would continue to take the best care of him as he faced all his challenges. He answered surprizingly quickly. Here's the last thing he wrote.... Zippy to the end:

So, they've given me some meds and will try again tomorrow. Hopefully, it'll be more than just treading water like I did yesterday. It figures... all these years of getting my blood pressure low and now they don't like it. And, for some strange reason, I'm tired all the time. Actually fell asleep for a few minutes while typing. I went back and edited so you don't have a page full of ....................................................

Robin

RIP, dear friend, RIP

Matt, I am also saddened by the news of Robin's death.  He visited my wife and me when he passed through NC on some of his east coast jobs.  A trivial but telling thing I always appreciated about Robin was that when I would call his cell phone he would not take the call while driving, he would pull over to a safe spot and call me back. All of us will miss him.   

Matt and family,

I never meet Robin in person - just on this board, but he was always more than "just a username on a screen". To many here, he was a gentleman, Mini colleague, humorist, sage, mentor and above all - friend. All on-line, but nonetheless real.

Today, my world got a bit smaller. My condolences to you.

Zippy, old friend, I'll miss you.

 

 

We have all lost a good friend and valued resource. My son Alex was just a tiny fellow when Zip started visiting us if he had any spare time while working at AB in Williamsburg. Once he was pressed for time so Scargo and I met him for breakfast. We had so much fun and laughed till I cried. The night Scargo and I met NJ Boone for dinner was the same thing. I hope all our very good and missed friends are looking down on us and enjoying each others company. When I picked up my Moke in Cleveland we were to get together but he had a unplanned hospital visit. He acted as if he had let me down. We always talked about our kids our dads and our toys. Zip posted pictures for me over the years, yes I will miss him. God Speed Zip. Steve (CTR)

While still early in the day, l would strongly suggest that organizers of all forth coming mini shows or events , have a special travelling trophy for the "best Moke in Show" as a tribute to Robin,

Much like the Brian Owens plaque handed out at MM East events

l will undertake this , in memory of Robin and will have it available for all major shows, East and West, just contact me and l will send it out at my expense-

Hugh, (Dr Mini) and Rick Higgs out west maybe could help me co-ordinate this and l will be in touch

And just as an aside, Robin used to tell the story of the woman who ran her car up on his Moke, ripping off the side mirror and dismissing it as a small scratch even tho she confessed to everyone in the store when it happened, As Robin listened to her story never thinking for a moment that it was his Moke she hit, Boy was he surprised when he went outside later and finally saw the damage and of course by that time she was long gone-he would later tell the story that her car must have been on top of his side pontoon, as he described it as in a "Breeding Position "

BIG AL

Very sad to hear but also not surprised, his health conditions were catching up to him quickly-

Matt to you and Jan, our sincere condolences from Joy and our family , please be strong for your mother

Although l am just across Lake Erie from you, l will be unable to make it to the service but will be there in spirit

Your Dad was an extraordinary person, a quick dry wit but a friend to many , many people, l never said he looked like "Ned Sanders" but he did !!

We were so glad to have your Mom and Dad stay with us when they would visit us in Canada, especially when they would come hear to attend the Bronte show

And, l was happy to see and visit with him at MM East in MD this past June,we always reminisced about how l sourced the white Moke "bARB" for him up above Oshawa Ontario and what a piece of crap it was but Robin spent years working on it and turned " BARB " into a beauty queen

Malsal and Linda are here now visiting us from Florida and he will be shocked and saddened when he gets up and hears the sad news

If l may, l would like to give a little background about Robin,he was a private person, hard to get to know and penetrate his outer shell but when you did , you saw the real Robin- l go way back with him about 15 years, he was living in North Royalton Ohio, a southern suburb of Cleveland, also the location of the famous "Cleveland Heart Clinic" who treated and kept Robin alive for so long

Robins's father was a life long fireman in Cleveland and Robin was very proud of him

Robin himself worked as a design engineer in the Brewing industry, although he was employed by a Brooklyn NY firm, he rarely ever did operate out of there, preferring to stay "clear" of "Head Office" , he told me he dropped in once and the receptioned asked him who he was and when he quietly replied Robin Jones, she screamed, " l heard of you but never knew that you really existed (LOL) Robin spent most of his working life on air planes, commuting back and forth to the job in breweries large and small all over the USA, of course he accumulated massive air mile points which he used up going to the UK and to lMM all over

His job as a designer was to keep the lines of beer being produced moving, so every time a brewer would change their bottle design, Robin had to go in and recon figure the conveyors to make it work or if speed volume changed on the lines, it was, "Call in Our man in North Royalton" to make it work

He loved his work and was good at it-

His first mini was a 1959 red saloon with a 1380 cc engine, nice car very original (except for the power plant) but never had a carpet or even a basic floor mat installed, that really bugged me but Robin just dismissed my frustration as " who needs them attitude" he sold that cat to a buyer from Vancouver BC and then along came "BARB " that was his mission to make BARB the best UK Moke around and he succeeded !!!

There are many more good memories of Robin, but now at 6:30 AM , l just want to reflect on my memories of a good friend taken from his family , far too soon !!

Robin, R. I P, you will be in our hearts and thoughts for ever

Big AL

Matt, I am so sorry to hear about your dad. I will miss listening to all his stories and hanging out with him at ever car show. He wouldent let any kid walk buy the Moke without sitting in it and take a picture. Very sad and shocking news, the Cleveland Mini scene will no longer be the same. 

 

 

This comes as shocking news to me.  Robin was a good Mini friend to me.  At MME 2003 in Magog QC he took me on as his driving partner in the Rally in Murph, the 59 MINI from Europe somewhere (Gibraltar I think?)..What a machine !...in any case, we had only exchanged pleasantries  on the Internet before that, mostly here on the MM forum.  From then on, a real friend....we finished middle of the pack.  Which was good w/o a speedometer or odometer.  Robin had this way of watching the tach, knowing which gear we were in , how far we went because of the time elapsed.  Anyways, he had it all figured out.

At MME 10, we also had some good laughs.

Robin, I am "rolling my eyes" today for you, buddy, but they have tears in them this time.

Mike

I have a tear in my eye as I type this.

Robin was a friend - a proper real life friend, not just a username on a screen.
We drank beer and laughed at shows in the USA, and drank cider and laughed at shows in the UK.
We stayed up till the wee small hours of the morning tinkering with Minivation hinges and designing a new set of mounting points for them.
We giggled like schoolgirls while creating the rolleyes gif of Jemal.
I'm glad I had one last laugh with him at MME, even though he was obviously ill and running out of options.

You WILL be missed.

Insert rolleyes one last time.

R.I.P.  Zip

thanks Matt for informing us., ,,,  our Heartfelt Condolences to your Family

Sir Robin is a very jolly person, he knows how to enjoy life, he jokes around a lot, here and on the minimoke forum as well.

we exchange emails, it started when he offered to give me a set of spark plug wires, in the course of our conversation, i did tell him about myself and who i am, and i ask him one thing, to please whatever conversations we had over the email, it'll be just between me and him., it's been roughly more than a month now and since then he never utter a word about what we talked about. im so proud of him, a real genuine person.

you will be missed Sir Robin!!

Matt,

This is very sad news. We will miss those rolling eyes. He's in our prayers. Take care and God bless.

Matt,

I can't begin to tell you how sad this makes me. I never met Robin in person but I consider him a friend. I will pray for you and your family. I know there's not much a stranger's comments on an internet forum can do to comfort you. But please know that I'm just one of many many people that your father reached out to as a friend and fellow enthusiast. He has made a difference in this community and a lasting impression that will not soon fade.

Thank you for sharing this here.

Godspeed, Zip!

Hi Matt, Your Dad & I shared our experiences with heart related surgeries.  He was welcoming, understanding and encouraging.  I am so sorry to learn that he has passed at too young an age.  lease accept my deepest condolences on your loss.  Rick/Hunter2

 

Matt, I am sorry for your loss, and appreciate your notifying us here

Requiescat en pace, zippy

 

 

 

I am Matt Jones and Robin Jones (zippypinhead) is my father of 36 years.  He was 61 years old, a grandfather to my 2 year old son Marshall, and a husband to Janet of 41 years.  Tuesday September 15th around 8pm he passed away due to extreme health circumstances.