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Myrtle M. Robbins, 84, loved adventure, from dancing to biking

She loved ballroom dancing, and it was there that she fell in love again.

Myrtle Robbins.
Myrtle Robbins.Read morePROVIDED BY FAMILY

Myrtle M. Robbins loved adventure, whether she was twirling around the dance floor, riding on the back of a motorcycle for Bike Week in Daytona Beach, or enjoying a luxurious cruise to Hawaii to see Elvis Presley perform.

"She was amazing," said Ms. Robbins' son, Joseph, who described his mother as a "June Cleaver" who enjoyed her life to the fullest, whether pushing her 20-year-old gas mower or serving as a substitute room mother.

On Monday, July 5, Ms. Robbins, 84, of Westville, died of complications from a stroke, her family said. After a brief hospital stay, Ms. Robbins went home to her family and hospice care, never regaining consciousness.

"It was the perfect ending. She lay down to take a nap, had a stroke, and slipped away," her son said, adding that his mother "had the attitude that she would live forever," which probably kept her young at heart.

She remained active until the stroke, her children said. Despite her son's offer to pay for a landscaper, the 4-foot-11 woman, at 98 pounds, insisted on doing it herself.

Among her fondest memories was the cruise to Hawaii with her husband, Paul A. Robbins Sr., who died in 2001, and seeing Elvis perform in the 1970s, said their daughter Donna Clark.

"She loved the cruise. She thought Hawaii was just beautiful with the white sand beaches," her daughter said. "She thought Elvis was just dreamy."

She hung a velvet painting of the rock icon near her blue-and-white velvet couch.

As she grew older, Ms. Robbins substituted as a room mother for her daughters and granddaughters. She also enjoyed taking them skiing in Vermont.

When in her 70s, she shocked her daughter with her plans to accompany a gentleman friend on the back of his motorcycle to Daytona Beach, Fla., for Bike Week.

"I thought it was wonderful," her daughter said. Her son was not as thrilled.

For decades, Ms. Robbins enjoyed all types of dancing. In recent years, she spent much time ballroom dancing. It was there that she rediscovered love, falling for her dance partner, Bill Schmidt of Woodbury, who had lost his wife of 55 years.

Friends invited him to the dance and Ms. Robbins glided across the floor, urging her partner to stop looking at his feet during their slow dance and instead to look at her.

"We fell in love pretty quick," Schmidt said. "It was a whirlwind relationship."

They continued dancing together several times a week. She was 10 years his senior, but had the energy of someone far younger.

"She could do anything. She was the queen of the dance floor," Schmidt said. "I just found her the most delightful woman in the world. I thought we would have another 10 years together."

In addition to her son and daughter, Ms. Robbins is survived by sons Paul and Charles; daughter Debra Misuraco; 10 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and a sister.

Life celebrations for Ms. Robbins will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, July 11, and 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 12, at Daley Life Celebration Studio, 1518 Kings Highway, Swedesboro. A service will follow at 11 a.m. Interment will be at Lake Park Cemetery, Swedesboro.