NORTH SALT LAKE—She laughs so heartily that tears come out of her eyes. She will cycle 50 miles just for the fun of it. She can dance a great salsa during Zumba class. She works countless hours on her feet at the hospital. She will happily pick up your kids after school if you’re stuck in traffic 20 minutes away. The hours fly by during a road trip with her because she loves to share colorful stories about her life and random interactions with the people she meets. And she does it all with the coolest Australian accent.

            Robyn Lowrie Dallin of North Salt Lake grew up in Queensland, Australia. As her father passed away when she was only 8 years old, Dallin experienced early on how difficult a mother’s job is – especially for a single mother. Yet perhaps it was this upbringing that only deepened Dallin’s naturally giving and loving motherly heart. Without any biological children of her own, Dallin has been a caregiver figure to many children ever since her early 20s, before she was even married. After joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 19 years old, Dallin left Australia to attend Ricks College, now BYU-Idaho. After graduating with an associate’s degree in Nursing in 1989, Dallin launched her nursing career at Salt Lake City’s LDS hospital yet took a break from her job to serve a church mission in Chile in 1990–1992. After her mission, Dallin returned to work for LDS hospital and although single and in her 20s, took on the role of temporary mom to two teenage girls, Emma and Emily, who came to America from their home in Australia. Emma was 17 and Emily was 18. The girls stayed with her for the summer. 

“Oh my gosh…it was so fun,” Dallin, who was only a few years older than the girls said. “I took them around and we went shopping like nonstop!” 

An immigrant herself, Dallin recognized how challenging it is to come to a new country and learn the customs and the area and was happy to take in these young girls. While Dallin was a tremendous help to the girls, they truly gave her joy as well. “It was like a piece of home that came to live with me,” she said. 

Since then, Dallin has taken in various kids throughout the years to live with her but in the meantime also continued to progress in her career by earning her bachelor’s degree at Weber State and her master’s degree from Walden University. She married Rodney Dallin in 2003 after they met at Cottonwood Hospital where Rodney was working as a pharmacist. As Robyn was 38 years old when she married, having children of their own never materialized.

Most of the kids that have lived with the Dallins are not blood related. Often they are children of previous college roommates or neighbors in Australia. Yet to them, she is “Auntie Robyn.” In Australia, similar to the customs of New Zealand and other Polynesian islands, the terms “Auntie” and “Uncle” are given as signs of respect and recognizes a strong familial bond regardless of biological connection.

In addition to housing kids and helping to support their needs such as shopping for school supplies or getting them ready for college or church missions, Dallin happily helps other parents with more menial but no less important daily tasks such as picking up kids at school and chauffeuring them to their various activities. When Jessica Harper was 12 years old and babysitting her sister, Melissa, who was 6, they decided to walk to McDonald’s from their home on the East bench in Bountiful. They had no problem walking the 2.4 miles downhill and enjoying their meal, but they did not feel up to walking the 2.4 miles back to their home uphill in the heat of summer. Imagine Dallin’s surprise and amusement when she received a call from Jessica asking for a ride. She was, of course, happy to rescue the girls. 

“Since we have no extended family here in Utah, Auntie Robyn is like my second mom,” said Harper, now 23 and engaged to be married. “She helped take care of us when our parents would go out of town, she was the emergency contact at our schools, she has come to our performances and games, and she even came to the airport to welcome me when I came home from my mission. Her genuine love for us truly makes us feel special. I love her dearly.”

As a nurse professionally, Dallin’s role as caregiver is inherent. She has helped care for her father-in-law until his passing and often flies back to Australia to care for her mother. While she cares for her patients or the elderly, her love for children is profound.

“It is our responsibility to enhance and better the next generation to ensure they are the most important thing in our lives, in our world, as they truly are miracles of divinity,” she said. “There is happiness in the journey of life and we just need to be willing to open our eyes and see but we need the help from everyone we come in contact with. Children are trusting us to raise them, help them, teach them, spoil them, enjoy them. Each one of us has our own personal journey to take so let’s make our lives better by being better people – especially to each other.”