Robyn Aileen Kliger, 55, of Berkeley, CA died unexpectedly on June 13, 2015 in San Francisco. She is survived by mother, Eunice Kliger of Los Altos, brother Barry Kliger of Los Altos, sister Julie Kliger of Oakland, and her beloved sons Mo and Jake, of Berkeley. Robyn was preceded in death by her father, Dr. Ben Kliger of Los Altos Hills.
Born September 15th, 1959 in Bellevue Ill., Robyn graduated from Awalt High School in 1977. After receiving her BA in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, she continued her studies in the UC Berkeley Anthropology department, earning her PhD. in 2000.
Robyn was a deeply devoted mother, a loving daughter, a beloved sister, and a brilliant scholar. From her first academic publication, ("Somatization: Social Control & Illness Production in a Religious Cult," published in the journal Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry while she was still an undergraduate) through to her last ("On Truth: The Repressed Memory Wars" published in August 2014 in the anthology UP, DOWN, AND SIDEWAYS Anthropologists Trace the Pathways of Power), Robyn addressed challenging questions of memory, meaning and truth.
But it wasn't just an incandescent intellect that defined Robyn. She was famous among her friends and colleagues for her open-hearted compassion, her willingness to listen, really listen, to the ideas of others, to offer her full attention and comment thoughtfully, and always, always, do so with love and kindness.
Her boys, or as she put it in the dedication to her last article, her "extraordinarily wise and loving sons" meant more than anything the world to her. In remembering Robyn, it is her generosity of spirit, her own gracious and ennobling wisdom that those who knew her, who were fortunate enough to love her, and be loved by her, will carry forward.
A funeral is scheduled for Friday, June 19th, 2015 11:00 AM
Hills of Eternity Memorial Park Chapel
1301 El Camino Real
Colma, CA 94014