Dr. Louis Stephen Robbins

Dr. Louis Stephen Robbins passed away on September 7, 2025, at the age of 89.

Born on August 19, 1936, in El Paso, Texas, to Ethel and Dr. J.B. Robbins, Louis grew up with a love of athletics and learning. He graduated from El Paso High School in 1953, where he excelled in track and field, anchoring the winning 440 relay team at the state meet in Austin and setting new records in the high and low hurdles.

At Texas Western College (now UTEP), he was a three-year letterman in track, specializing in the 440 and the 440 relay. His leadership, academic excellence, and athletic success earned him recognition as one of the university’s Top 10 Outstanding Seniors when he graduated in 1957.

Louis went on to receive his medical degree from Northwestern University and complete both an anesthesia residency at UCLA and an extended pediatric anesthesia residency at Boston Children’s Hospital. Soon after, he was drafted into the U.S. Air Force, serving as a Captain and anesthesiologist at Homestead Air Force Base from 1965 to 1967. He then returned to Boston, earned his board certification in anesthesia, and served as both an anesthesiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital as well as a teaching professor at Harvard Medical School.

In 1973, Louis and his family returned to El Paso, where he joined Anesthesia Consultants. For more than three decades, he was known as a compassionate, highly skilled physician with a calm bedside manner that reassured countless patients. His professional interests extended to medical hypnosis, which he used to ease anxiety and improve care. He was also part of the group of physicians that built the first outpatient surgical center in El Paso. Louis retired in 2005 after experiencing a stroke while training for a marathon.

Running was a lifelong passion. Later in life, Louis completed seven marathons, including the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. and the New York City Marathon in back-to-back weekends in 2003.

His devotion to athletics extended beyond his own accomplishments - he proudly supported UTEP sports, volunteered each year to provide physicals for student-athletes, and, with his family, endowed an athletic scholarship fund, and the annual student-athlete awards banquet, the Golden Pick Awards. Among the honors presented is the Dr. Louis Robbins Award for Academic Excellence that recognizes the senior male and female athletes with the highest GPA.

Beyond medicine and running, Louis loved playing guitar, country western music, and two-stepping with Marie, his beloved wife of 58 years.

He is survived by Marie; his daughters, Dede Robbins and Rachel Robbins Edwards (John); and his grandsons, Jake and Matt Edwards.

Graveside services will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, September 12, 2025, at Temple Mount Sinai Cemetery.

A special thank you to Alejandro Orozco, his caregiver, and Hospice El Paso.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Robbins Family Student-Athlete Scholarship Endowment at UTEP: https://raise.utep.edu/campaigns/64158/donations/new or to Temple Mount Sinai: https://templemountsinai.com/donate