Robin Toner

[2] Her father, Charles, was an oil refinery supervisor and World War II pilot; her mother, Mary Louise, was a homemaker.

[3] She graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University in 1976 with a dual major from the College of Arts and Sciences and the S.I.

[4] Toner reported for The Charleston Daily Mail in West Virginia and The Atlanta Journal and Constitution before joining the Times in 1985.

She later became chief of correspondents on the paper's national desk in New York, coaching reporters in other bureaus, and also had held the title of senior writer, covering topics including abortion rights and judicial nominations.

[3] Toner died of complications resulting from colon cancer on December 12, 2008, and was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[6] The Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, awarded annually by Syracuse University's S.I.