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6/29/2026
Robinson’s contributions to Great Falls went beyond donations
Institutions around Great Falls have been remembering Owen Robinson and recognizing the impact he had on his hometown.
Robinson, 81, died June 20 from brain cancer.
His death was sudden, according to friend Ken Robison, but there were earlier signs of trouble. Robinson was known as a faithful Montana Grizzlies booster and had a front-and-center table at the Grizzly Scholarship Association’s annual reception in May. Robinson invited Robison to join him at the table.
“I went, and I was very surprised, as were the others at the table, that Owen wasn’t there,” Robison told Montana Free Press last week. “And, of course, we hadn’t heard anything at that point.”
Robison said he met Robinson in 2001. He recalled Robinson as a master public servant and a dedicated philanthropist, especially in local historic preservation efforts.
“We’re going to miss him because of his great generosity,” Robison said. “But he was probably as kind and gentle and just a delightful individual as God ever created.”
One of his many legacies will be at the Cascade County Historical Society’s The History Museum, which named its remodeled research center after Robinson and his wife, Gayle, after a major donation. The center reopened in 2024.
“He was not just somebody who signed a check,” said Connie Constan, executive director of The History Museum. “He wanted to be involved and engaged. The last time I had a face-to-face conversation with him, he had come in to say, ‘Hey, the art museum in Missoula is doing such and such. Are you guys doing something like that here?'”
That involvement included times when Robinson was going through cancer treatments. Constan said that during that time, he called to ask what needed to be taken care of at the museum.
Robinson spoke with MTFP in 2024 about his effort to preserve the Great Falls Tribune archives when it was unknown whether those records would even be saved. When he learned that the Tribune’s building was going to be sold, he started calling the paper’s parent company to get them to release the archives. When they found a 1,200-pound mural that had once adorned a previous Tribune building, Robinson signed a check to get it moved for safekeeping and preservation.
“I just had a feeling that nobody is going to care about what’s going to happen about that stuff,” Robinson said in October 2024.
Robinson was born in Great Falls in 1944. He worked his way into leadership of his family’s business, the Grogan Robinson Lumber Company, which became Lumber Yard Supply.
He married his wife, Gayle, in 1978.
Robinson was known as a generous philanthropist. Among the beneficiaries of his giving are the Montana History Foundation, Benefis Hospital, Providence Health and Services, the Maclean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center, the C.M. Russell Museum, the Cascade County Historical Society, the University of Montana Athletic National Advisory Board and the University of Montana College of Business Advisory Board, according to his obituary.
He also served on numerous boards and associations, including the Great Falls City Commission.
Even upon leaving the city commission, he told the Great Falls Tribune in 2021 that he found joy in taking on challenges for the benefit of his community:
“I guess the thing I’m going to miss most is working through problems with so many good people.”
Robinson’s full obituary can be found here.
Photo Op
This training facility at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls serves the 341st Missile Maintenance Group. The enlisted men and women of that group are trained to work in tight quarters to keep the arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in working order.
The work is highly secure, given the access and interaction with nuclear missiles. Members of a Security Forces unit assist missile maintainers and are needed to gain access. That access comes with redundancies — maintainers need a member of the security forces to access the small entry door of the missile silo. Once inside, only the missile maintainer can access another secure entry to do their work.
Like an active missile silo (called a “launch facility”), this training site had its own climate-control equipment to keep the machinery at a reasonable temperature. Parts of the platforms also sit on suspension in case of earthquakes or nuclear strikes.
The missile wing based at Malmstrom oversees 150 launch facilities across central Montana.
Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected].
5 Things to Know in Great Falls
Ken Robison is the recipient of the 17th Paris Gibson Award, the city of Great Falls announced last week. A former Navy intelligence captain, Robison has more recently been recognized for his historic preservation and writing works. Robison will be given the award during a performance of the Great Falls Municipal Band July 1, 7 p.m., at the Gibson Park bandshell. The full award announcement is here.
Giant Springs State Park will host a series of trivia nights for teams of seven or fewer. They will be held every Tuesday starting July 7 and running through Aug. 25, according to a press release. The events are free, and participants can bring their own seats for the grass. Winners will get prizes.
A team of four paddlers is attempting a speed record on the entire length of the Missouri River. They are taking a 23-foot canoe down the 2,341-mile river starting in Montana and ending in St. Louis, Missouri. The record to beat was set in 1980 at 33 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes. The team portaged around the Great Falls last week and got back onto the water just past Morony Dam. Their progress can be tracked here.
The Great Falls Police Department is continuing its summer safety initiative by focusing officer resources downtown. That includes a “direct enforcement team” of four officers, a dedicated downtown officer and the addition of school resource officers to patrol the area, according to the city.
It’s the first Independence Day since voters approved restrictions on fireworks use in Great Falls. The new ordinance prohibits fireworks that leave the ground on their own or explode. Sparklers, smoke devices, fountains and other “novelty” devices are allowed. The city’s fireworks show will still take place, and a press release said the best places to view are Gibson Park or Elks Riverside Park. The restrictions apply only to property within city limits. Read about the fireworks vote here.
Programming Note
Great Falls This Week is taking its annual summer break. There will be no edition on July 6, and the newsletter will return on July 13. Happy Fourth of July!
