Elmer Robinson, beloved husband and father, passed away peacefully April 24, 2016 in Medford, Ore. He had a long and successful atmospheric research career. In 1968, as a meteorologist at Stanford Research Institute, Elmer was one of the first scientists to link the burning of fossil fuels to the possibility of global warming.

Elmer was born October 3, 1924 in Los Angeles, Calif. to Mary Luella (White) and Homer Henry Robinson. The family moved to Glendale where Elmer graduated from Hoover High School.

He served as a Second Lieutenant in World War II and later graduated from UCLA with a BS and an MS in meteorology. In 1947 he married Clara E. Wilkinson, also of Glendale, Calif. The newlyweds moved to the San Francisco peninsula and Elmer began his career with SRI. As a climate scientist he conducted research in far-flung locations including Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica. The Greenland research involved analysis of ice cores dating back thousands of years. Historical trends of atmospheric CO2 could be determined from this ancient ice. In Antarctica Elmer worked on measuring the hole in our earth's protective ozone layer. Research continued, but in 1972 Elmer accepted a professorship at Washington State University and the family relocated to Pullman. In 1985 another move occurred after he was appointed the director of NOAA's Mauna Loa Research Observatory in Hawaii. Elmer retired in 1996, and moved to Medford in 1999.

He is survived by wife Clara, his devoted partner for 68 years; sons, Douglas of Pullman, Wash. and Scott of Los Alamos, N.M.; daughter, Cynthia Wiegand of Parker, Colo.; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His generous spirit will be missed.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, May 21, 2016 at Rogue Valley Manor, Medford, Ore.  Memorial contributions may be made in Elmer's name to Save the Redwoods League, 111 Sutter St., 11th Floor, San Francisco, Calif.  94104.