Willard Green Johnson Robinson (January 19, 1920 – November 6, 2013) was born in Edgecombe County to the late Mamie Johnson and Lou Green. Her aunt, Mary Jane Johnson, raised her. She was reared in Edgecombe County, North Carolina on the Joe Mills farm near Friendship Church.
Willard attended the Friendship School, which was located behind the church. When she stopped going to school, Willard worked on the farm and also did domestic work. She earned twenty-five cents a day doing day work on the farm at that time. That was not plenty of money.
At an early age, she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and joined the Friendship Baptist Church, where she remained a member until she left Rocky Mount, North Carolina. When her Aunt Mary Jane became sick Willard took good care of her. Her cousins, Jesse Sr., Thomas and John Hinton assisted in caring for Mary Jane Johnson.
Willard met Johnnie Frank Robinson at a Holiness church, where they were attending. Johnny Frank was born December 19, 1919 in Edgecombe County, North Carolina and he served in the Army. They got married in 1939 in Tarboro, North Carolina in the courthouse. Mary Jane Johnson continued to live with Frank and Willard until she died in 1940.
In 1949 Willard and Frank moved to Winston Salem, North Carolina. He was a member of Saint Phillips Moravian Church in Winston Salem, NC over thirty-years. He did handy work at the church. Frank’s hobbies were restoring antiques and deep-sea fishing. Willard and Frank were married for thirteen years, before their daughter Zenobia Robinson Coker was born. Frank died of diabetes complications in 1988.
Today at the age of 81 Willard does domestic work two days a week, and work in her garden and enjoys cooking. Willard is a devoted member of Saint Phillips Moravian Church and is involved in many of the church’s organizations. Willard and her husband Johnnie Frank were married for 49 years at the time of his death. Willard passed away November 6, 2013.