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Shu Robinette, 85, was received into the hands of her Heavenly Father on November 1. She was preceded in death by her father Ting Cheng Hsu, step-father Dr. Fan Chu Chen, mother Cheng Shih Chen; her brothers, Ah Wi Chen and Ah Pin Chen; She is survived by her husband David, of 60 years; brothers Ah Lo Shih and Dr. Kevin Chen, and sister Karen Lee. She leaves behind a legacy of love and faith to her children Meilynne McKenzie and her husband W.R., Kevin Robinette and his wife Michelle, and Cheryl Carnes and her husband Charles. Shu is also survived by her greatest joys, her grandchildren and their families; Emily Perez, her husband Daniel, and their children Aliya, Jadin, and Sophia; Meghan Russell and her husband Paul; Miles McKenzie; Marie Snyders and her husband Andrew; Monica Robinette; Helen Lantzer and her husband Preston; Cecile Kuplack, her husband Christian, and their children Jerome and Charles; Sabina Robinette; Jane Robinette; Zoë Robinette; Chase Carnes and his fiancée PaChia Thao; Dr. Cody Carnes and his wife Dr. Shreya Reddy; Lindsay Carnes; and Lilly Carnes. Shu was born in Chi Fu Township, Taiwan. For high school she studied nursing at Provincial Taipei Senior Nursing Midwifery School and became a nurse at the National Veterans Hospital in Taipei. She met David while he was stationed at Taipei Air Station. They were married in Taipei and welcomed their daughter Meilynne. David received orders to return to the States and the tiny family moved to Travis Air Force Base (AFB) in California. Shu was so excited to move to the United States. Their son Kevin arrived the following year and Cheryl was born while David was deployed to Laos during the Vietnam Conflict. Another transfer took them to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska where Shu proudly became a U.S. Citizen in 1969. Here she decided to attend Cosmetology School and after working for a short time as a stylist bought her first Beauty Salon, Shady Lane from the owner. David was transferred to Kelly AFB in 1973 so the family made their last major move to their adopted home in San Antonio, Texas. Shu was a member of Calvary Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio and also attended First Baptist in Castroville. She came to know her Savior Jesus Christ in 1969, becoming a Christian, and was baptized while the family lived in Anchorage, Alaska. She loved her church family and served by singing in the choir, helping out in the kitchen, organizing fellowships, and had a gift for making people feel welcome and loved. She loved God and glorified him in so many ways everywhere she went through her kindness, thoughtfulness, hospitality, and love for people. Shu and David were very involved in raising their three children. They taught them the value of their Christian Faith, hard work, education, and helping people. Family road trips were the highlight of the summers. She loved to reminisce about how much fun the family had as they traveled all around the country. Shu also enjoyed square dancing, traveling, bowling, line-dancing, entertaining, and sharing food. Over the years, Shu was well-known in the community as a business woman as she owned several beauty salons in San Antonio; Trail and Country, Silver Scissors and Hair Concepts. She had a close attachment to the stylists who worked for her, referring to them as “The Girls”. Shu often became involved in their personal lives and was friends with all of them. She had a long and enjoyable career as a stylist/owner and loved all of her customers. After retirement, Shu maintained a small 1-chair salon in her home where she saw customers and friends on special occasions. In 2009, Shu and David moved to Hill Country Retreat, where they quickly made many dear friends through travel, dinner groups, game days, and so on. Shu also danced with the Hill Country Retreat Line Dancing Show Group. Always wanting to bring people together, Shu established the Simplified Taiwan Mahjong Group at Hill Country Retreat, where the weekly gatherings quickly grew to 50 participants. Her love for sharing Mahjong and helping others learn how to play has spread and inspired other small groups to form in many other places. Shu loved being a Grandmother; her grandkids call her Ahma, which is “Grandma” in Taiwanese. Each grandchild was ‘her favorite’ and she made sure to add fun and laughter to everything she did with them, including the secret family hand signal and official family cheer. She was very involved in helping raise and support the grandchildren by attending their activities where she could, sending care packages, and always remembering birthdays and other special occasions. Her love language was to make sure everyone was well-fed. At family gatherings she always prepared the highly anticipated ‘snack table’ overflowing with carefully hand-curated treats. Shu and David made numerous trips all around the country and back to Taiwan to visit their families. She loved her family and David’s family and was especially fond of all of her nephews and nieces who always looked forward to a visit from Aunt Shu. Shu will be greatly missed by her family and friends. We look forward to a beautiful reunion with her in Heaven. She never knew a stranger, always tried to make everyone feel special, and managed to brighten the day of each person she met. Visitation will begin at 10:00 A.M. with the Service to follow at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at First Baptist Church of Castroville, 1408 Alsace Avenue, Castroville, Texas 78009. Private interment for family will be at Mission Burial Park North. In lieu of flowers contributions in her memory may be made to the Food Distribution and Pantry at First Baptist Church of Castroville

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Shu Robinette

December 7, 1938 - November 1, 2024