Provo doctor finds time to volunteer at clinic, despite retirement

PROVO — Moreno Robins spends his time playing racquetball, raising horses on his cattle ranch in Provo and playing with his 34 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. But the retired Provo doctor still finds time to volunteer at a health clinic where he tends to children in need.

Robins was born in the small town of Hinckley in central Utah in 1941. His family moved north to Davis County when he was a young man. He later graduated from Davis High School. After high school, Robins served a mission in Mexico for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was on his mission that he decided to dedicate his life to helping children maintain and improve their health. He earned his degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine before going to the University of Washington for a fellowship and residency,

During his long career in pediatrics, he was called as a mission president in 1984, when he was sent back to Mexico and had the opportunity to serve with his daughter, Ladonn, who was also serving a Mexican mission at that time. Robins was called to serve again in 1996, when he went south to Guatemala to become an MTC president.

He retired in 2004, but was soon asked to lend a helping hand at the Volunteer Care Clinic in Provo, a free clinic that offers medical services to low-income families who have no insurance.

"I did it because they asked me to," said Robins. "I feel like I do some good for people who need the help."

He works the clinic Tuesday and Thursday nights for about three hours and attends to 10-12 patients each night. Robins' grandson, who is studying a pre-med course at BYU, also volunteers at the clinic.

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