Irv Robbins

Irvine "Irv" Isaac Robbins (December 6, 1917 – May 5, 2008) was a Canadian-born American businessman. He co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain in 1945 with his partner and brother-in-law Burt Baskin.

Early life Robbins was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to a Jewish family. He attended both Tacoma's Stadium High School, where he was a yell leader, and Seattle's Garfield High School.

His father, Aaron Robbins, owned a dairy and The Olympic Store ice cream business at 954 Court C in Tacoma, Washington, US. Robbins grew up scooping cones in his family's ice cream store for customers who always seemed to be having a good time. He recalled that he often "finished a day's work happy" and wanted that same feeling when he started his own business.

Irv Robbins attended the University of Washington in Seattle, was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, and graduated with a degree in Political Science. He served in the U.S. Army as a Staff Sergeant in California, during World War II and was discharged in August 1945.

Business career Soon after getting out of the Army in 1945, he opened the Snowbird Ice Cream store on December 7, 1945, in Glendale, California. Robbins cashed in a $6,000 insurance policy given him for his bar mitzvah to start the business.

Personal life Robbins was Jewish. He married Irma Gevurtz in 1942, just before he went to serve in the U.S. Army. Robbins and Irma had three children: Marsha, John (author of the 1987 book Diet for a New America), and Erin. Baskin and his wife Shirley had two children, Edie and Richard.

Robbins died of natural causes near his home in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 90.