Obituaries

Robert H. RobertsonPsychiatrist

Robert H. Robertson, 87, a psychiatrist who worked at St. Elizabeths Hospital and at the Mount Vernon Mental Health Center, died Aug. 1 of complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Capital Hospice in Arlington County.

Mr. Robertson began working at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington in 1951 and became a forensic psychiatrist there starting in 1969. He left in 1973 to work in crisis intervention at the Mount Vernon center, where he stayed until 1990.

From 1973 to 1990, he also taught psychiatry and neurology at Howard, Georgetown and George Washington universities and worked in the evenings at alcohol treatment clinics in Alexandria and Arlington.

In 1992, he returned to St. Elizabeths before retiring in 1998. For much of his career, he also worked for the Social Security Administration, reviewing psychiatric disability claims during after-work hours. He retired at 78.

Mr. Robertson was born in Narberth, Pa., and attended Oberlin College until he was drafted into the Army in 1942. He completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University and attended Temple University Medical School in Pennsylvania starting in 1944.

After his discharge from the Army in 1946, he completed his studies at Temple on the GI Bill. He graduated second in his class in 1948, eventually passing his boards in both psychiatry and neurology.

As a member of the U.S. Public Health Service, he worked at the Norfolk Marine Hospital, the Atlanta Penitentiary and the Lexington Penitentiary in Oklahoma.

In retirement, he continued to be an avid reader, enjoying nonfiction, biographies and history. He also collected coins. He loved to spend time traveling with his wife and frequently going to Bethany Beach, Del.

Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Joan Robertson of McLean; four children, Bob Robertson of Fairfax City, David Robertson of Kill Devil Hills, N.C., Carolyn Bowen of Peachtree City, Ga., and Louise Robertson of Pickerington, Ohio; and 10 grandchildren.

-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb