Robin Ann Skorpen Tupper, 58, formerly of Andover

On Saturday, Feb. 19. 2022, Robin Ann Skorpen Tupper, loving wife of Jay Tupper, mother of Christian and Nicholas, passed away at age 58.

Robin was born on March 28, 1963, in Lafayette, Ind., to Harold “Hal” and Toini (Kalinen) Skorpen. Her family eventually moved to Andover, and met her future husband, Jay, in Chester. After his proposal, she bravely followed him to Florida. Shortly thereafter, they were married and started their family together.

Robin earned her RN nursing degree from Palm Beach Community College, beginning a long and passionate career helping countless patients, not just renal (kidney) care, but many other problems outside her nursing field. She was the nurse who would cry at the loss of one of her patients and would be there for the family at their funeral. Robin could not have picked a better path to pursue that aligned with her love to help others.

Most people never knew the struggles and pain Robin dealt with on a daily basis. She was diagnosed with multiple auto-immune diseases, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjogren’s. She was in constant pain, usually ending each day with a steady rotation of ice packs and heating pads. She refused to give in to her failing body, and was always out and about, whether it was being outside gardening or being there for someone in need. Her constant smiles and almost complete lack of complaining had all blind to how she felt physically. Robin would tell you she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Around four or five years before she passed, Robin had moved from her career in nursing to her failing health. This was a difficult time compounded by the loss of her youngest son, Nicky, and her mother. She just kept moving forward searching for new ways to help people in need.

Robin became very active in the recovery community in south Florida. She was very boots-on-the-ground fighting for the sick and suffering “kids” as she would call them, the ones who had burned all their bridges, were forgotten about  or were just walked away from. She had no real path to follow or end goal in mind. She was just there helping.

Whether it was countless daily individual morning texts to people, making and handing out bags of essentials to the homeless, or supplying (and many times, setting up) Christmas trees for men and women in sober homes, she never seemed to stop being there for others.

Robin lived her life by an old Finnish saying sisu. One of the last things she and her eldest son were working on was a “pay it forward” type of thing, which manifested as a simple card. On one side it read SISU. The Finnish people have what they call sisu, which in English means strength of will, determination and perseverance in the face of extreme adversity. Sisu is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain that courage. It stands for the philosophy of what must be done will be done. You might call it backbone, spunk, stamina, guts or drive. It is a measure of integrity that surpasses the hardship and sees us through to the end. Sisu is the quality that lets us pick up, move on and learn something from previous failures. It’s an integral element of Finnish culture and a universal capacity which we all share.

Robin was preceded in death by her father, Hal, mother Toini, brother Eric and youngest son Nicky. She is survived by her husband Jay,  her eldest son Christian, a great extended family, and an even greater collection of friends and chosen family. Her light still shines inside of all of us that survive her.

A Life Service for Robin will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug 6, 2022 at the cemetery on East Hill Road in Andover.

 

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