There was a lineup outside the funeral home for Mike Robinson, the Canadian and new father who was shot and killed while on a golf trip in Wisconsin.
The overflow room was packed, and inside the main chamber, officiant Keith Callahan decried the shooting as a “senseless act.”
Robinson, who went by Mike, but whose full name was Giovanni Michael Robinson, was on a trip to Sheboygan Falls last month. He had scored his first ever hole in one, and called his brother, Jacob Robinson, to celebrate.
Hours later, police responded to a 911 call for a man suffering from a gunshot wound. Robinson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Local police arrested Luis E. Cruz Burgos, aged 35, who is facing a charge of first-degree reckless homicide. During an appearance in court Monday, he denied shooting anyone.
“He had a way of walking into a room and making it lighter. Turning strangers into teammates, strangers into family. If you knew Mikey you knew warmth, big hugs, clap on the back that always said ‘I always got you,’” said Jacob.
Robinson was born in Stouffville, Ont., north of Toronto. South of the border, a small memorial was erected in Sheboygan Falls, Wis. The funeral was livestreamed on a television set beside several floral bouquets and a small Canadian flag.
A handful of people stood before the TV and held flowers of their own. It was also broadcast on social media, where one viewer wrote: “Thank you so much for doing this for us that couldn’t come.”
“Mike made life brighter. To know him was to love him, and his memory will live forever in the hearts of all who were blessed to share in his life,” reads the funeral advisory.
