Anne Robbins Cleveland

Anne Robbins Cleveland, age 91, died of natural causes on the evening of November 18, 2015.

Anne is survived by her daughter Cynthia Thomas of Murfreesboro, TN, her daughter, Cherryl  Robbins of Gainesville, GA, her son Richard Robbins of Woodstock, GA, and her son Kenneth Robbins  of Gainesville GA. She is also survived by six grandchildren- Lisa, Lauryann, Isabella, Olivia, Will and Riley, three great grandchildren- Michael, Lucy and Rachel, and two great great grandchildren- Natalie and Jordan.

Anne was born August 8th, 1924 in Commerce, GA to parents Holden and Lucy Swindle.  She was the eldest of four. Anne was married to Capt. John R. Robbins for twenty-four years until 1969. She remarried briefly but lived alone from 1974 until her passing.

Growing up with poor beginnings in rural Georgia during the depression, Anne lived a dynamic life. Being a military wife, she relocated all over the country from Ohio to Nevada and Tennessee. She was stationed in Japan for four years where she became recognized tournament bridge player.  Her work history includes being a secretary for the U.S. Sugar Corporation, a model for the Lovable Bra Company, an engineering aide for Bell Aircraft where she was taught to read engineering schematics and eventually sales director for Motel Managers Corporation. 

In the 1960s, her desire to live independently and grow her own food took root and she moved back to Alpharetta, Georgia where she opened an antique and junk shop.

Her media notoriety rose in 1972 when, against all odds, she defied the school immunization laws and in a federal District lawsuit, had the Georgia compulsory vaccination laws overturned.

Her greatest passion was the pursuit of freedom. Originally inspired by Atlas Shrugged, she became an intense student of liberty and freedom and won a scholarship to the famed Rampart College in Colorado Springs.  For the last seven years of her life she has been a tireless writer operating her freedom and politics blog OctogenariansBlog.com and reporting and commenting to her 2,000 Facebook followers.  In May of 2015, Anne was the subject of a Gainesville Times editorial for her unusual acumen for and popularity on the Internet.

A funeral is scheduled for 12:00PM on Monday, November 23, 2015 at Dahlonega Funeral Home with a reception to follow. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Anne’s life.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that all friends of Anne take time today to call your parents or children or even a friend’s parents and spend time catching up.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.dahlonegafuneralhome.com