MS Coast loses journalism ‘icon’ with passion for faith, family and crime coverage

Few people have the grit to investigate the beating death of a prisoner, coverage that landed 10 deputies in prison, and the grace to battle cancer without complaint the way Robin Fitzgerald Eyman did.

The long-time Sun Herald crime and courts reporter died of cancer Friday at home with her family around her. She was five days from her 68th birthday.

“She was just so kind, generous, compassionate,” said DeWayne Watson, her pastor at Coast Life Church in Gulfport. As a crime reporter, she interviewed many people about traumatic events. “They were blessed to be able to talk to a reporter who cared,” he said.

Stan Tiner, Eyman’s executive editor at the Sun Herald, called her “a talented and brave journalist.”

“Robin was not large in stature, but she was unafraid, and covered the news with a sense of fairness and was always dedicated to finding and reporting the truth,” Tiner said. “She suffered many health challenges through the years that brought her significant and constant pain, but she always pushed through with grace and good humor. I will always remember her powerful stories, but also her enduring smile and laughter.”

Shining in her journalism career

Eyman discovered journalism at an early age. She was 16 years old when she started writing for her hometown newspaper in Brundidge, Alabama. She earned a journalism degree from Troy University in Alabama, where she was editor of her student newspaper.

She was publicity coordinator for Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel in Biloxi before she went to work as a reporter for the Sun Herald in May 2000, a position she held for almost 19 years.

Eyman relished her job. She wrote under the byline Robin Fitzgerald, her name before she met the love of her life, Rick Eyman, and married him in December 2017.

Robin was widely admired in the community, especially among the law enforcement officers with whom she spoke daily.

“Robin was not swayed by politics or public opinion,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said. “Throughout her career, she maintained moral character and integrity and was true to the ethics of her profession. Her love of the Mississippi Gulf Coast community was easily recognized by the compassion and empathy one felt while reading her stories.

“Robin was truly a respected and admired old-school journalist who will be sorely missed by so many.”

Prizes and praise

She was a member of the Sun Herald team that won journalism’s highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, for coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She also was nominated for a Pulitzer for her coverage of the death of jail inmate Jessie Lee Williams at the hands of a Harrison County jailer and the cover-up of inmate abuse by other jailers.

When she accepted a buyout that allowed her to retire early, Robin wrote: “My most memorable stories include allowing families of homicide victims to tell me who they were so they would not be not known just for how they died; working in grueling conditions after Hurricane Katrina and covering the killing of an inmate at the Harrison County jail, uncovering a pattern of abuse and reporting on prosecutions that sent 10 officers to prison.”

Robin met Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson soon after he began his career in 1998 as a narcotics officer with the sheriff’s department.

“When we made a big arrest, she was the first person to blow up my phone for a press release,” Peterson said. “She was someone I could trust and someone who would always listen and report the whole story. When I retired for the first time to run for sheriff, she was the first to call and congratulate me. She was a friend and will be truly missed.”

Retired D’Iberville Police Chief Wayne Payne recalls how Robin wrote a story about his granddaughter, who was born three months premature, and how the community could donate blood to help the family. When Payne retired as Gulfport police chief, Eyman showed up at his retirement party. “I’ll always remember her telling me, ‘I’m not a reporter tonight,’ ” he said. “She was there to support my achievement, and I thought that was pretty neat. She was always a genuine person.”

Love of her life comes along

Robin was always careful about checking her stories once she had written them. Editor Blake Kaplan recalls that he used to get evening texts from her, asking why he had added a comma or made other changes. She wanted to learn and to make sure her stories were correct.

While Robin was always intent on getting the story first and getting it right, she had a big heart and always felt compassion for crime victims and their families. She also had a lively sense of humor that helped temper the many tragic stories she heard and wrote over the years.

She said in her retirement story: “My job led to heart-warming correspondence from readers, and the cursing of people angry over what I’d written about them. I understand human nature more than ever.”

Retirement allowed Robin to spend time with the family she loved and to enjoy her garden. She and her husband discovered Mexico Beach, Florida, a spot they loved to visit.

“I loved her from the moment I saw her, that’s the truth,” Rick Eyman said. They met at church, where his mother always told him he would find a good woman. “We were able to develop a relationship based on God, based on faith . . . It was truly remarkable.”

He was impressed by her spirituality and how she shared her faith with others. “She made me a better man,” he said.

Family bids farewell

She loved Mexican food, watching crime shows on television, leading a women’s Bible study and hosting another church group at home with her husband.

Even while she worked hard, Robin kept a watchful eye over her children.

“I wanted to keep her forever, but am relieved she is in no more pain,” said her oldest, Courtney Sangster.

Her son, Kyle Rebstock, traveled from Georgia to spend his mom’s final days with her and the rest of the family.

“Her strength, wisdom, and patience have taught me everything I’ve needed in my life and I can’t imagine a world without her,” he wrote on Facebook.

Her youngest daughter, Alicia Fitzgerald, said her mom was “her best friend” and she would miss talking to her every day.

Robin also is survived by her son Michael Rebstock, along with stepsons, Charles and Rick Eyman Jr., and stepdaughter Ruth Eyman.

Robin’s mother, Julia Caldwell, lived with the family in their Gulfport home during her final years. Grandson Jacob Pemberton was her joy and spent many overnight visits with “MayMay” and the family.

Robin also was preceded in death by brothers Keith and Kim Caldwell and their father, Harold Caldwell.

Memorial services

A celebration of Robin’s life will be held at Coast Life Church at 11975 Seaway Road in Gulfport, with visitation beginning at 3:30 p.m. and a memorial service at 4 p.m. on Sept. 24.

“Robin was an icon on our Gulf Coast, as a person, as a member of the media and as a member of the community,” said Gulfport’s Chief Administrative Officer, Leonard Papania, who as a former police chief worked with Robin for many years. “It just breaks my heart to lose her on all those levels.”

Those who followed her cancer battle on Facebook were inspired by her grace and humor. Denise Andrews Bissell wrote: “Robin Eyman you are so beautiful! Inside and outside. Your faith is a beacon for the whole world to see!”