Roberta “Robin” Jane Spencer Janetos, 82, passed away peacefully on March 30, 2026 surrounded by the love and comfort of family in her final days following health complications.
Born in Boston, MA on June 24, 1943, she was adopted by Robert and Marjorie (Beckett) Ralston. Robin grew up in Melrose, MA. She was defined by her thirst for history, her enduring friendships, and her deep love for her family. She left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of knowing her.
Robin spent many summers in her youth at her grandmother’s Driftwood estate in Rockport, MA playing with her cousin on the seashore and helping her grandmother run a homestay. Following her graduation from Melrose High with high honors in history, Robin attended Northeastern University where she would meet her beloved Ken Spencer. After a brief few months, they eloped in Hampton, NH in November of 1961 and together shared 33 years of marriage and raised two children.
Robin’s family life post-college began in Huntington, CT. In 1969, her husband’s career had a shift, providing the young family a new opportunity moving them to Illinois, beginning in Batavia, then Geneva and finally Barrington. They enjoyed summer trips back to the east coast filled with family and friendships. Robin and Ken, also, traveled to Venezuela, England and Germany.
Robin enjoyed painting, wallpapering and decorating each new home, vegetable and flower gardening, and hosting dinner parties, some parties centering around the pool table which she and the family also enjoyed on their own time. Robin had a thirst for books visiting the local library weekly. She enjoyed writing, crafting, sewing and being a steadfast Chicago Blackhawks, Bears and Bulls fan. She enjoyed meeting new people, brightening up a room with her charm, and making fast longtime friends. She was the heart of her family. She was known for her positivity, generosity, unwavering strength and vibrant spirit.
Robin and Ken joined his company’s bowling league and introduced and supported their children through various clubs and sports - Cub Scouts and Brownies, baton twirling, ice hockey, baseball, softball, horseback riding, soccer, skiing and golf. She wrote articles for the local paper about her children’s hockey game results. Robin tried to conquer her fear of heights, so took a few horse riding lessons, as well as learning to ski and golf. Robin was always game to learn or try something new, proudly enjoying whatever it was while quick to admit it may not be pretty while smiling ear to ear.
Soon after becoming empty nesters, Robin kept busy working at a veterinary clinic and taking some college classes. She wrote a book though it never got an ending. She battled and conquered uterine cancer. And she supported close friends through their own health crises.
Following Ken’s unexpected death in October 1994, Robin picked up the pieces of her life and returned east, making a home in Nashua, NH close to her family and children. She helped her mother-in-law relocate to a nursing home, assisted her father with her step-mother’s cancer and passing, her father through his final years, and then her mother through Alzheimer’s and her final year.
While in Nashua, Robin joined a local club which opened doors for new friends and adventures. She got back to golfing and learned the sport of Curling. She met new neighbors. She became a Boston Bruins and Patriots fan. She reconnected with old college friends. And Robin began to learn the ropes of being a grandmother.
Then Robin found a new partner to spend her remaining years with, Paul Janetos. Following her marriage to Paul in November 2003, Robin picked up and moved again to join her new husband in Rollinsford, NH. She enjoyed hosting family BBQ’s by the pool, learning to snowmobile and raising chickens. She joined the Women’s Club of Somersworth and eventually served as President for a few years. Throughout the years, she watched her grandchildren grow and followed them through their sports. Robin enjoyed trips with Paul to the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and Australia, Nova Scotia and Calgary, Canada, North Dakota, a cruise to Alaska, and snowmobiling in Yosemite National Park. She, also, did two trips with one of her grandchildren - Florida to learn about sea turtles and enjoying a swim with dolphins, and another to Arizona where she went down a mine shaft, watched her grandson ride a horse and learn to rope a fake cow, and white water rafting down the mighty Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. She loved the adventures and all things learned along the way.
Robin, additionally, always had pets, cats Doodlebugs, Tinkerbelle, Tigger, Peanut Butter, Tiffany, Rodney, Jake, and Pumpkin, along with dogs Boots, Dandelion, Pepper, Buck, Penny, Toby and Kodi.
She will be remembered for her vibrant spirit and love of bringing family together to celebrate special holidays and occasions while having the house decorated for each season or event.
Robin is predeceased by her first husband, Kenneth Bartlett Spencer, her father Robert Alvin Douglas Ralston and his wife Isabel of Reading, MA, and her mother Marjorie Ralston of Peabody, MA. She leaves behind her children - daughter Michelle MacBean and her husband Andrew of Hollis, NH; son Ken Spencer and his wife Virginia of Essex, MA; and grandchildren Cole, Tucker and Matthew, along with extended family. Robin leaves behind her second husband of 22 years, Paul Janetos, along with his extended family.