Verna Richert Enns

Her long and rich life be¬gan in Kansas, but at an ear¬ly age her family moved to China and later Mongolia as missionaries with the Men¬nonite Brethren Church. For two years of high school, she attended a boarding school in what is now North Korea and roomed with Ruth Bell Graham, with whom she maintained a long correspon¬dence. These China memo¬ries and experiences formed a significant part of her world view, and a special meal of Chinese dumplings and asso¬ciated dishes became a staple of family gatherings up to the present. When she returned to the U.S. in 1935, it was not long before she met Paul Henry Richert, and they were married in 1940. Verna lived in many different places throughout her life. During World War II Paul and Ver¬na spent time in Placerville, CA while Paul was in alter¬nate service, and Marlboro, NJ where they worked to¬gether in a mental hospital. After the war, she lived in the San Joaquin Valley for many years, with moves to a number of cities as Paul pro¬gressed through his career in public education. Verna was a devoted mother, elemen¬tary and special education teacher, and active partici¬pant in churches along the way.

After Paul passed away in 1984, she moved to Fresno, CA, where she was active in College Community Church (now Willow Avenue Men¬nonite Church). In Fresno she re-connected with Daniel Enns, a childhood friend, and they were married in 2000 at College Community Church when she was a mere 80 years old. After Dan passed away in 2008, Verna moved to San Luis Obispo and then to Los Osos to live with the family of grandson Ben and wife Jill. In Los Osos she satisfied a life-long dream to live near the water, and for many years she regularly drove to Morro Bay with a friend to watch the otters. While living with Ben and Jill, their family of growing and maturing chil¬dren kept her engaged and mentally active. “Grandma School” provided an oppor¬tunity to resume her role as teacher, which both she and her grandchildren cherished.

Verna is survived by sons Don (Tati Garcia), Ed (Car¬ol), Norm (Lucy), and Rober¬ta Carter; by grandchildren Kirsten Richert, Rosemary Trimmer (Troy), Ruth Richert (Simone Ilardi), Paul Richert, Ben Richert (Jill), Katharine Richert, Elizabeth Richert (Saul Thomas), Pe¬ter Richert, Rebekah Foll¬mer (Kris), Jonathan Richert (Jenn), Alexandra Richert, Alexander Gauvin, Rachel Gauvin, Rhonda Card, and Renee Wells; by great-grand¬children Kira Wessler, Benjamin Wessler, Hayley Trimmer, Braden Trimmer, Athena Ilardi, Leonardo Ilar¬di, Sadie Richert, Weston Richert, Abel Richert, Jack Richert, Olivia Richert, So¬phia Richert, Berend Foll¬mer, Mara Follmer, Solvej Follmer, Leif Follmer, Josh¬ua Richert, Kathrine Lopez (Mario), Jonathan Card, and Jason Herrington; and by great-great grandchild Leon¬ardo Lopez. She was preced¬ed in death by her brother, Vester Dick, and her sister, Wilma Wall.

Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Au¬gust 17, at Baywood Park Community Church, 1436 11th St., Los Osos, CA. The family invites all to a time of celebration of Verna’s life and a time of sharing mem¬ories.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Mennonite Central Commit¬tee in Verna's name.