Robina Hall was a well-known Elizabethton cosmetologist. However, she was more than just a hairdresser to many of her customers. She was their friend and confidante.

“Robina loved her customers, many of whom were elderly and could no longer drive. She would pick them up and bring them to the shop, fix their hair, and take them back home. Some, she took shopping when they needed to go, others she went grocery shopping for or picked up their medicines. Some, she took to the doctor,” said her longtime associate, Danetta Oliver. “She also went to the nursing home and did one customer’s hair.”

Robina took her cosmetologist training at Edwards Beauty Shop and School in Elizabethton and for several years worked for its owner, Mrs. Ida Edwards. Later she opened her own shop and had been in business 28 years when she died Jan. 31.

“Many of her customers had been with her from the time she started her own business. She had some customers in their 90s, and one was over 100 years old. She loved them all,” said Danetta.

Before she took cosmetologist training and for sometime after that, Robina worked for Palace Vending, filling vending machines at various businesses. “She met so many people and made so many friends when she worked for the vending company,” said her daughter, Kendra Carter.

“Mom was always a hard worker and a very strong person. She got married when she was 16 and had five children in seven years. My dad died young, so Mom became both the family manager and breadwinner. Mom was a good mother and worked hard to raise us. She was also a very compassionate person,” Kendra shared.

Before she took cosmetologist training, she worked at a greenhouse one summer and at Glen Raven Mills in North Carolina. “Mom was not afraid of hard work,” Kendra said.

Both, Danetta and Kendra noted Robina’s love for traveling. “She had visited just about every state in the union. She had been to Hawaii, the Grand Canyon, and to several of the western states. She also enjoyed day trips with friends, and every year she looked forward to going to the Cranberry Festival in Shady Valley,” shared Danetta.

Kendra noted that her mother, who grew up in Avery County, N.C., still enjoyed getting together with her high school friends. “There was a group of them who got together every year on their birthdays, and Mom was among them. She never met a stranger, and had tons of friends,” said Kendra.

Robina lived for a time on Bluefield Avenue, and among her lifelong friends was Helen Huffine. “They were just like sisters,” said Danetta.

She was also a longtime member of Willow Springs Baptist Church and was very faithful in her attendance.

“Robina was one of a kind. She was a good person, who enjoyed life. She was happy-go-lucky. Robina didn’t worry about things. She would just turn her heartaches, her hurts and disappointments over to the Lord, believing He could do more with them than she could. Oh! am I going to miss her,” said Danetta, who plans to keep the shop open in a new location.

Robina and Danetta had worked together for 36 years, both of them starting out at Edwards Beauty Shop and School.

In addition to her five children, Robina had a stepdaughter, Regina Livingston, who she loved liked her own daughter. She also had 10 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.

Emma “Robina” Lewis Bowman Hall will certainly be missed, not only by her family but by her many customers, some of whom were expecting Robina to give them a perm or do their hair that very next week after her death. “I can’t believe it..she was such a good friend,” said a customer.

Robina Hall made an impact on a lot of people’s lives in a positive way. She knew what it meant to be a friend. The world needs a lot more Robina Halls.