Roberta (Robbie) Lea Hutchinson died on June 1. She was 63.

Robbie was born in Lincoln, Neb. and moved to northern Virginia with her family at a young age. Her early hobbies and interests included Girl Scouting, ballet and sewing, which she learned from her mother.

She graduated from Herndon High School class of 1975. She then attended the University of Virginia. One of her proudest achievements was earning a bachelor of science degree from UVA in environmental science, a very new discipline at the time in 1979.

She began work as a software engineer and obtained a master’s degree in computer science soon afterward from George Washington University.

In 1988, she married John Hartley. In the mid-1990s, Robbie decided to change careers and went back to GWU and, through many hours of classroom and field training, became a landscape designer.

She and John then fulfilled their dream to move to Martha’s Vineyard. For the next 18 years, she helped create breathtaking gardens and vistas in every corner of the Island. Her designs and contributions will be enjoyed for decades.

The couple retired to Naples, Fla. in 2017, planning on a long, quiet retirement. Robbie’s interests always included science, nature and community service. She attended and graduated from the two-year-long Greater Naples Leadership Master’s Program.

She began her unfortunate journey with breast cancer in 2012, but despite world-class treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital, the cancer progressed and eventually spread. She died with her life partner, John, and her Havanese, Watson, by her side.

Robbie is survived by her husband, John, and her father and sister.

She requested donations to be made to the Silent Spring Institute in Newton or simply to go plant a tree. Any kind. Anywhere.