YVES ROBERT

ROBERT--Yves Henri. Age 91, died on December 2nd, 2018 in Southampton Hospital surrounded by his family. Born in Hong Kong to French parents, he lived in China and Vietnam where his father was a banker for Banque de l'Indochine. The family returned to Paris in 1937 and lived through the occupation. His father died when Yves was 10. Educated in Paris at La Sorbonne, he arrived in New York in 1954 to work the French aluminium company, Pechiney where he became President of the their US subsidiary, Howmet. He later led an MBO of the medical device subsidiary Howmedica, sold to Pfizer. An executive at Continental Grain involved in grain dealings with Russia and led one of the first delegations to China in the late 70's. Retrained as a banker, he worked at Alex Brown & Sons in New York and London until 1997. Yves met his wife of 61 years, Patricia Hutchinson, in Newport RI and proposed seven months later on April Fools'. She accepted, having never seen a single member of his family meeting her mother-in-law at their August 1957 wedding. Chairman of the Alliance Francaise, on the board of St. David's School in New York City. He was awarded the Chevalier of L'Ordre Du Merite in 1971 and The Ordre National de La Legion D'Honneur by President Francois Mitterand in 1984. An avid golfer and later a sailor, Yves relished his time in East Hampton, NY retiring there in 2008. He is survived by his wife, Patricia, three children, Marc, Christina, and Michel, eight grandchildren and his brother, Dominique Robert of Paris, France. A service is to be held at Most Holy Trinity Church on December 22nd in East Hampton at 11am. Memorial contributions can be made to the Angel Fuel Fund at Most Holy Trinity Church in East Hampton, helping families and the elderly in need to heat their homes in the winter.