Betty Clapp Robinson was born June 22, 1912 in Wichita, Kansas, the daughter of Marc Clinton and Florence Harper Clapp. After graduating from Mills College in Oakland, California in 1934, she married Kansas City surgeon Ernest "Kip" Robinson, son of Dr. Ernest Franklin and Mary Clementine Kip Robinson, in 1937.

Mrs. Robinson held a variety of volunteer and service positions throughout her life. She co-founded the Cerebral Palsy Nursery School in 1947, served as chairman of Research and St. Joseph's Hospitals' community fundraising drive in 1953, and held a wide variety of volunteer positions with the Junior League of Kansas City. In 1957-1958 she was president of the Visiting Nurse Association and served on the Nettleton Home for Aged Women board of directors.

Mrs. Robinson's passion for gardening led her to receive the 1999 Garden Club of America Medal of Merit for her work with promoting conservation and for 45 years of working with the Westport Garden Club of Kansas City, Missouri. She was also concerned about historic preservation, serving in a variety of capacities for the Kenmore Association, a group formed to preserve the Revolutionary War-era home of Betty Washington and Fielding Lewis.

Dr. Kip Robinson practiced medicine in Kansas City from 1932 until his 1975 retirement, after earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He founded the city's first cancer clinic at General Hospital and directed the hospital's cancer service until 1964, pioneering the use of radium for treating cancer. During World War II, he served as chief of surgery at the Olathe Naval Air Station and served on the U.S.S. Intrepid and at the Naval Receiving Hospital in San Francisco. He also served as a surgeon with the Burlington Railroad and was a member of the Association of Railway Surgeons.

Dr. Robinson was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Southwestern Surgical Congress. He maintained memberships in the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society, the Jackson County Medical Society, and the Kansas City Surgical Society. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Bronze Star for his service during World War II.

Dr. Robinson held his own volunteer positions in the Kansas City area, at one time serving as chairman of the Kansas City Landmarks Commission and with the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission.

Kip and Betty Robinson had three children: Mary Judith, John Kip, and Marc Clapp. The eldest, Mary Judith or "Judy," had a career in journalism in Main with the United Press International and, from 1991-2017, wrote and published several books based on various research projects, including genealogy. Dr. Ernest Kip Robinson died in 1991. Betty Clapp Robinson died in 2000.