December 2, 1926 �" January 31, 2009
Joseph "Bud" Robbins, gay activist, died on Saturday, January 31 in San Francisco following a stroke. He was 82 and a veteran of World War II. He served in the Navy in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
He was born December 2, 1926 in Binghamton, New York and graduated from New York University.
Bud retired from teaching in the public schools of Hillsborough, CA. Except for his time in the Navy, Bud was "out" his entire adult life.
Bud was a charter member of the Alexander Hamilton Post 448 of the American Legion, the nation's only post whose members are predominantly GLBT war veterans. He was an organizer of the veteran contingents in the Marches on Washington for Gay Rights in 1987, 1993 and 2000. He was in the 1994 "Stonewall 25" commemoration in New York and participated in many San Francisco Veterans Day and Gay Pride Day parades.
He was also active with American Veterans for Equal Rights and Veterans for Peace.
Bud was an early activist with senior Net, Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays, and the Bay area Network of Gay and Lesbian educators.
Bud's late partner, Joseph Maloney, was also a WWII veteran and a member of the Alexander Hamilton Post.