Audie Lea Richeson

Audrey Lea (Richey) Richeson, 78, of Columbia, MD, passed away at her home on January 1, 2026. She spent Christmas day (her favorite holiday) surrounded by her loving family and passed away peacefully in her sleep with her husband Kim at her side pre-dawn on New Years Day.

Audrey Lea (nicknamed Audie Lea) was born on July 19, 1947, in Silver Spring, MD, to Jack Richey and Audrey (Groves) Richey. She spent her childhood playing with her cousins Sally Groves and Linda (Groves) Gillespie, and other childhood friends. Audie Lea attended school at St. Michael’s Catholic, Academy of the Holy Names, and graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in 1965. She also spent 11th grade living in Columbus, GA, with her sister, Patty (Richey) Nicholson.

In 1967, Audie Lea got married, and divorced in 1972. She had two daughters, Jackie (Hutchison) Mitlo in 1970, and Holly (Hutchison) Galdo in 1971. She spent the first few years of their lives juggling parenting as a single mom, working full-time as a secretary and typist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and taking classes at a junior college.

As Audie Lea tells it, while having lunch at work one day in 1977, she saw the most handsome man from across the crowded cafeteria. While she was dropping hints to his friends that she would like that man to ask her out, Kim was sitting at his desk thinking about the beautiful woman he had seen at lunch and working up the courage to find her office or call her. Audie Lea and Kim started dating soon after and were married on September 1, 1979.

Audie Lea received a BA in Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 1985, and took additional classes in pastoral counseling. She worked for several companies in administrative positions. One of these was the Channel 5 TV station where on Halloween she briefly appeared on camera (not speaking) in her Raggedy Ann costume. She found a job she loved when she worked for Hospice of Howard County from 1989 to 1995 and created a curriculum for bereavement support groups.

As her family grew, her primary and favorite job was caring for the family. Audie Lea loved being a mommy to her daughters and, later, her dogs, Pudgie and Brady. And she loved being a grandmother (Grammy Lea) to her 3 granddaughters.

Audie Lea had a servant’s heart. After becoming an empty nester, she devoted many hours to volunteer service. She was active in her church, leading numerous Bible studies and women’s groups, and writing the church newsletter. Audie Lea’s faith was foundational to her life. She spent time every morning reading her Bible and stopped to pray regularly throughout the day. She was always available to help a family member in need. She spent weeks supporting her mom in her fight with terminal cancer. She took care of her dad on his journey through Alzheimer’s. She helped many other family members in big and small ways. She loved sending cards to encourage and celebrate others.

Audie Lea greatly enjoyed vacations and traveling with family and friends. She spent many leisurely vacation weeks at beaches from Rehoboth, DE to the Outer Banks, NC to Marco Island FL and other points in-between. She and Kim traveled to Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, England and Alaska. They took many ski vacations to resorts including Jackson Hole Wyoming, Davos Switzerland, and several ski resorts in Colorado and Utah.

Audie Lea had an enthusiasm for life that drew everyone to her. She loved to laugh and sing, and was known for being the memory keeper of the family. She enjoyed reading, scrapbooking and sewing, and was a prolific writer in her journals and letters to friends and family. She found wonder and playfulness in everything she did, including naming every stuffed animal she saw, and she worked to make even little things special, like dressing up as Sara Claus and bringing toys to her granddaughters’ classes at Christmas.

Audie Lea is preceded in death by her children, Kelly Eileen Richeson and Michael Scott Richeson, as well as her parents, and her sister Patricia Ann Nicholson.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 46 years, Kim Ervin Richeson; daughters Jackie Marie Mito and husband Rob, and Holly Ann Galdo and husband Colin; granddaughters Kelly Scanlon Jorgensen and husband Jay, Leann Galdo Brown and husband Max, and Kaysie Galdo Armstrong and husband Blake; great granddaughters Emma and Ava Brown and Aurelia Armstrong; and many other dear cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

A celebration of life service will be held at Bridgeway Community Church on Wednesday January 21, 2026. Doors will open at 10:00 am and the celebration service will begin at 10:30 am. Details and registration are available at this website: Celebration of Life for Audie Lea Richeson - Bridgeway Community Church.

http://bridgewaymd.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3367721

The service will be available to watch on ZOOM for those who pre-register at the website. A reception will be held from 12:00 to 2:00 pm immediately after the service at the church. Please join us for light refreshments including savory items as we gather to remember and celebrate Audie Lea.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org, or to Neighbor Ride (a place she volunteered) at www.neighborride.org .