When I was little I was in your care
  You brushed my teeth and combed my hair
You never took a day for you
  I was always there stuck to you like glue
Please let me help you through your walk
  Lean on me if its just to talk
God sent me an angel in you for me
  Just spread your wings and be free
A sisters bond is like two hearts
  It can never be broken even apart

Love you so much,
Diane Krohn

Nothing can ever prepare a person for the loss of a loved one. The pain and grief is overwhelming at times.

My Grandma was one of the most influential people in my life.  I had an amazing bond with her and she took a huge piece of my heart with her.  She was the most selfless, giving, thoughtful, compassionate person that I have ever known. I know that she was sick, in pain and suffered in silence. I believe she is in a much better place now, without any illness or pain.

When I was a little girl, her phone number was the first one that I memorized.  I threatened to call her every time I was in trouble with my parents or just unhappy. She was the one person that could make me feel better just by the sound of her voice. Grandma was always very involved in my life. I consider myself very lucky to have had such a close relationship with her. Not only as my grandmother but as my friend and confidant. She was always willing to lend an ear no matter what was going on in her own life.  I will miss our long talks, or as she always said "solving the world's problems."

I thank God every day that she was well enough to attend my wedding.  That meant the world to me. That day would not have been complete without my Grandma there. She was always there for every milestone of my life and was a key figure in most of them. Whether it was softball or basketball games, school activities, teaching me to roller skate, type, cook, etc. Every child in this world would be a better person if they had someone like my Grandma in their life.

I will miss her every day for the rest of my life.

Grams, I love you with all my heart.

Dear Pat and Family,

I don't have as many years with you (only eight) to say a lot. First and foremost, I love and adore my wife, Deanne Richardson; Pat's beautiful daughter and the love of my life. Lee and Pat, thank you for bringing her into this world. It took me a long time to find her, but it was worth it.

Pat, I love you. When you finally went to the Lord, my tears weren't so much for you as for your family. I was happy that your suffering was at an end. I watched Dee stand tall for over a year. I hope you realize how strong she was and how hard she worked to be a good daughter to you and wife to me. When Dee finally broke down and sobbed during your service, it was hard for me to bear. Now the time to heal begins. My love for Dee has never been stronger. I will do my best to be her best friend.

Lee, hang in there. I can't know your pain, but I see it. There's absolutely nothing I can say or do to make this easier on you. Just know that Dee has my support for any time she needs to help you through this ordeal.

Jim, my admiration for you has risen and I'm sorry for your deep pain. Your eulogy was beautiful.

Randy, you are a good friend. I hope you're Ok.

Chris, Justin, Bree, and Samantha, Pat loved you guys.

Rich

 To all that were unable to attend our mother's memorial service, we are posting the eulogy that we, as a family, composed.......

 
Thank you all for being here today I know Mom is smiling knowing you all have come to pay your respects for her. 

 Mom was one of seven siblings and she and Dad were married young. She hadn't graduated high school and didn't drive at the time. I know when Dee, Randy and I were young we enjoyed and benefitted from having a stay at home mom.  She always made sure we had what we needed and some of what we wanted even if it meant she went without. She would make brownies, cakes and pies for us and I remember one of our favorite treats was the leftover strips of pie crust sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and baked alongside the pie. Her personal favorite dessert was apple pie and she made a great one. After all the work of peeling, slicing, making the crust and baking the pie, she'd be lucky to get one slice before it disappeared.  So, one time she decided to bake two and hide one for later in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. I guess she thought out of sight out of mind and she might get a second slice before her hungry hoard ate it all. I don't remember who discovered it but, we all grumbled when we found out and would often joke about it years later, but looking back, she definitely deserved more than one apple pie all to herself, a lot more.

 As we grew a little older and more independent, she decided she wanted to work outside the home also. So, she studied and practiced to get her driver's license and attended classes and earned her GED. She applied for and got a job working part time in the catalogue department at Sears, working her way up to manager of the department. She had a great work ethic and eventually became an assistant store manager. After a full day of dealing with employee and customer problems, she would return home to her first job and cook dinner for her hungry family or clean or do laundry or attend to some other critical issue.  She never complained or felt sorry for herself. She never talked about money or wanting to be rich because in her mind she was rich and had everything she wanted. That being said, she would scramble and hip check you if necessary to retrieve a penny on the ground, a trait that we all now share. A couple of nights ago, some of us were laughing about that and Samantha said she thinks Grandma saved all those pennies collected over the years and is now tossing them back one at a time just to mess with us. 

 It took a lot to get her mad, but when you pushed her to that point you knew it right away. When we were kids, if she called you by your full name you knew you were in trouble. If she said, wait till your father gets home you knew you were in big trouble. I can't speak for Randy or Dee, but for me, the anticipation was always more punishing than the real thing and she knew that.  One time when I was about 10 years old, she smacked me on the butt with her slipper and I laughed and said that didn't hurt. That was a long day of waiting for dad to get home. One thing he would not tolerate was showing disrespect for mom and rightly so. 

When she became a grandmother, like most grandparents, her approach was more of a spoil em and send em home attitude with some sage advice thrown in. She was a fierce defender of her grandkids, she wouldn't let anyone mess with them and would do whatever it took to protect them. She often did things to help the grandkids avoid getting in trouble with us parents.  She would help them clean their plates at dinner so they wouldn't get the ole clean your plate or you won't get dessert lecture. When we weren't looking she'd take a little from their plate and eat it or hide it. It's still a mystery to this day as to how she stayed so slender with all of the extra food she ate. 
She liked planting and working in the beautiful flower gardens she kept around the yard. She not only enjoyed the beauty of the flowers, but also watching the hummingbirds that would feed on them. She planted flowers that they were attracted to and hung feeders up for them. They always brought a smile to her face. The morning after her passing, Kathy, Samantha and I saw a hummingbird fly in and hover by our deck. We don't have any feeders or flowers other than wildflowers in our yard and in over five years living there, I can only remember one other time even seeing a hummingbird close to our house. I don't know if it was coincidence or not but I know we are going to put up some feeders now.

Unbeknownst to all of us, mom also was a keen mechanic.  One time, during a chat with her daughter in-law, Renee, Renee expressed how much she dreaded telling Randy about a sound she was hearing in her car.  Mom told her that she had a good fix for that. Just turn up the radio until you can't hear the noise. She said that she used that skill for years and the sound would eventually disappear. Who knew it was that simple?

She and Dad were married 58 years on July 15th. They enjoyed travelling and especially enjoyed their 50th anniversary trip to Hawaii and later, a whale watching cruise to Alaska. They took numerous vacations to her hometown of Pensacola Fla. to spend time with family and friends and shared many special trips with her sister, Sylvia and brother in law, Don.
The only times they were ever apart were the annual golf pilgrimages to Laughlin dad took with his buddies. One year mom wanted to do a makeover of his office while he was gone and surprise him with it when he got home. At some point he said he thought he would pass on that year's trip for some reason or other. She adamantly told him he WAS going and when his buddies came to pick him up, they were instructed to tie him to the roof if need be but he was definitely going. She pulled off the surprise as planned and the following year his golf buddies offered her a deal. For fifty bucks they would make sure he went and for a hundred they wouldn't bring him back. She thought about itno not really.  You see, they truly loved, respected and supported one another right up to her last day. They enjoyed each other's company and always shared a terrific sense of humor.  That's  dedication to be admired and aspire to. Every member of our family is a direct beneficiary of the commitment to one another that they lived each and every one of those 21,174 days.

I hope by now you see that spending time with family was her passion. Whether sharing holidays, birthdays, Sunday dinners, happy times and sad times, just visiting on the patio, caring for the young or old in our family, she never denied anyone's request for her time or her help. You didn't have to be a blood relative to be family to her. You just had to be someone that needed her help or wanted her friendship. That automatically made you a part of her extended family in her eyes.

 Even while suffering through all of the testing, treatments and after effects associated with chemotherapy, she was continually available for anyone that needed her; never once complaining or expressing self-pity. When any one of us was visiting with her and trying to find out how she was doing  or express our concerns for her health and well-being, she would quickly change the subject to what was going on in our lives. She didn't want to dwell on her situation often saying things could be worse. She always found a way to brighten even her darkest days by sharing in everyone else's day. We know that mom would be proud that she instilled in all of us that family is the number one priority.

Dee has said she was much more than her mother, she was a friend and someone she enjoyed spending time with as an adult. They spent a lot of time together and I know Mom felt the same way about Dee. Dad was continually by her side through her battle with cancer, doing whatever was necessary and Dee was the person that went along the most to help when it was needed. Mom wanted it that way and we are all grateful that Dee was able to be there to help her and dad, it means a lot to us all.
  
During the last six months of her illness I made myself a promise to tell her how proud I am of her and how proud I always have been to be her son. I kept looking for the perfect time when she and I were alone together because I knew I would get emotional and I foolishly didn't want anyone else to see me cry. That opportunity never seemed to present itself and I began to worry that I wouldn't get the chance. Finally, on the day she decided to move to hospice care, I knew I had to tell her or I would never be at peace with myself and I needed her to hear me say it. There was a large group of us in the ICU with her and she was alert and aware of what was happening. I sat down next to her and told her exactly that and I know I was speaking not just for myself but all of us. I'm so glad I did. As anticipated, I started to cry but didn't care who saw me.
The night before she passed, one of the nurses was checking her vital signs and remarked that she could hear Mom's heart beating loud and strong. My daughter, Bree, immediately said, That's because she has such a big heart! Well said, Bree, well said.
She took pleasure in the simple things in life, things like a big bag of popcorn at the movies, coffee in the cool morning air on the patio, watching a child do anything at all.  One of her favorites was a fall car ride through the mountains viewing the turning of the aspens. She would ask my dad to take her every fall and never got tired of seeing the wonder of it. 

I like to think now she's on an eternal ride through an endless expanse of quaking aspens where the leaves turn golden but never fall to the ground. 

Rest in Peace, Mom

A Letter To My Mother:

Dear Mom; 

You were a woman and mother like no other and I'm grateful you were my mother.  As I reflect on the 54 years we spent together both happiness and sadness flood my heart.  We definitely were not without out the normal mother/daughter struggles but you always gave me time and space to figure out no matter what the struggles were we were in them togethergood, bad or indifferent!  It goes without saying your fierce dedication to family was above all the most endearing quality you shared with all of us. You always said, the hardest child to love was the one who needed it the most and you shared your love with a lot of children in this world that were not your own.  The selflessness and time you gave to others was remarkable even in the most trying times.  I can only hope I am as half as kind hearted and giving as you were.  When you got sick and you faced tests, appointments, doctors and decisions you did it with dignity, grace and strength.  I saw in your face the fear not only for the battle you would have to fight but for the pain it would cause those you loved and who loved you.  You always put us first.  I knew it was my turn to step up to the plate and be strong for you.  I hope you saw how deep I dug to be strong for you and the family.  I put my happy face on did what I had to all the while my heart was breaking.  During the last two years, we spent a lot of time together sharing many good talks and a lot of laughs that no one else quite understood.  One thing we had in common among many things was our sense of humor.  I miss those precious times the most.  I have no regrets about how I handled myself during your illness with the exception of the last night we were together in the hospital. We were watching TV and chatting about the things we chatted about when things took a turn.  It was totally unexpected and I didn't know what was happening.  My only regret is not being Shirley McClain enough and having a Terms of Endearment moment with the nurses.  I know you know what I'm talking about. I saw the fear and pain on your face but I couldn't do anything to take that away. I'm sorry if I let you down.  I hope you felt the respect, admiration and love I had for you in that moment.  The next few days brought a time to make decisions that none of us was prepared to make yet.  I was asked a lot of questions about what you would want and I shared my thoughts with your wishes and your love in my heart. I knew your greatest fear during your fight was how dad was going to handle the situation. I hope you know we supported dad and loved dad through the tough times and continue to because we know his well-being would be your first priority.  My tears did not come when other tears flowed.  I guess I needed to continue to be strong for a while longer.  I saw you without struggle for the first time in a very long time.  I saw you pain free.  I saw you peaceful and believed with all my heart you had gone to a better place.  I whispered in your ear my promise I know you needed to hear and I hugged you one last time.  The last time a daughter would hug her mother!  As the next few days came and went and we planned your memorialthere was love, laughter, loving bantering between siblings and the tears finally came. I cried because my heart was broken and I mourned for the times we would never share again. I cried for our family because their hearts were broken.   I cried selfishly for myself.  I missed you already and I knew that would never go away. I think about you every day all day.  You were the cornerstone of our family and the glue that held this family togetherI think Lucca summed it up best. He told me and his grandma Sue, he was sad because you were his favorite grandma!  Out of the mouths of babes. I love you Mom.

My heart breaks for the loss of this very special person.  Not just for who she was to me but for who she was for so many others.  Always kind and exuded a sense of peace that provided me comfort even from afar.  Love you all so much.

My sincere condolences to Uncle Jim, and the entire family. Aunt Pat could always make us laugh, and help to make some of the best food ever created. She helped to make my mother one of the strongest people there is. She always put others first, even up until the day Jesus brought her home. We will always remember that smile, and the awesome sarcasm to go with it. The earth lost an angel, and Jesus gained a spiritual warrior. We will all meet again some day. We love and miss you, but we are glad you are comfortable. We were all blessed to have had you in our lives. Michael Glass and family.  LOVE ALWAYS

One of the most awesome people I've ever had in my life. Funny, unselfish, and helped to make my own mother one of the strongest people there is. The world lost an angel, but Jesus gained a spiritual warrior. Forever missed, but never forgotten!!  I Love You Aunt Pat :)  Michael Glass and family

What I remeber most about you was your humor and your laugh. Though we didnt get together often, thanks for the memories and most importantly the impact you had on my mother growing up. Miss you.

Aunt Pat, you've always had a smile on your face. My mom told me stories of how you were like a second mother to her growing up. You two were always close. You're a very special soul who has departed this world way too early. God has a special place for you because of your love of your fellow man. You will be missed, but never forgotten.

Aunt Pat:
I cannot remember a time when you were not creating, participating or promoting laughter.  That was your gift to the world, and we are all better because of you.  I will always smile when I remember you and only hope I can be half the person you were.  Your constant love and service to your family and others stands as an example to us all.  I love you and I will miss you always.

"UNCONDITIONAL LOVE"...Those are the two words to describe my Aunt Pat.  She gave everyone her time and unconditional love as a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. Her presence will be deeply missed and mourned. However knowing she is pain free and watching over us from above is comforting.  To my Uncle Jim and cousins...please know you are in my thoughts and prayers. I treasure the times we have shared over the years especially the trips to Disney World, Orlando. May God keep you safe and bring you peace as that is what Aunt Pat would want. My Love to You All!

You were always thinking of others. you and Jim define the word marriage. You took time to have that special touch for everyone you came in contact with and made them feel important.I don't want to let go but that's the selfish part of me.We all know that GOD make this decision  so I will hurt, cry, mourn and then thank my Savior  for the time he let me spend with you. YOUR BROTHER  JOHN[ GOD BLESS YOU ALL]

Oh the memories we all share!  Pat and Lee literally welcomed me when my parents brought me home from the hospital. Pat was a loyal neighbor, a mother to my dear friends, a wife to my co-worker and the crossed paths continued for years. I loved chatting with her at Target and waiving when I drove by their family home.  Richardson Family, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families. Your wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother was a blessing to so many!! Thank you for sharing her with all of us!!

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to each and everyone of you! Pat, "Mama Pat", was very good to Blaise and Ciaran, along with Abbi, Ehryn and Lillian!  She loved them unconditionally, like they were her  very own.  She will be truly missed by all of us, even more so by Ciaran and me.  She has been a great inspiration for me over the years!  We will love you forever and miss you dearly!

Colleen Atwood and family

To the Richardson Family, I am very sorry for your loss, but now she is in Heaven with her mother (Aunt Lena) and with the rest of her Aunts and Uncles.  I am so glad that we had connected after not seeing one another for 42 years. My prayers and sympathy goes out to you all, she will be missed and greatly loved forever.

Jim, Dee, Jim and Randy, our thoughts and prayers continue with you all as you walk through these next few days ahead. Pat will forever be in our hearts.....with her constant jokes and laughter, but most of all the love for her family.  May the Peace of Christ be with you! Love you all! Karen (Hinkley) and Jay Gallacher

Her smile is one which makes me smile. I pray for peace in your hearts. I know your family has so much love so I know you will all be there for one another. You also have many friends who care about you and I'm glad to be among them. My prayers will continue on for all of you and I know God has a special angel looking over you. God Bless the Richardson Family.

Dear Richardson Family,
I am very sorry for your loss.  Heaven has received a truly wonderful woman!  I will never forget the Friday night Mexican food dinners...every Friday...delicious...thanks Mrs. Richardson!!!
In my thoughts and prayers,
Pam S. Day-Rafter

OBITUARIO

Patricia Elaine Richardson

13 julio, 1941 – 19 julio, 2015

Imperial Memorial Gardens Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery

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