Lorraine Frances Richards

Funeral mass will be 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 24, 2016, at Holy Family Catholic Church, with Father Daniel O’Connell officiating. Interment will follow at Fort Mitchell National Cemetery.

A Rosary will be said at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 23, 2016, in Edgewood Hall of Striffler-Hamby, followed by visitation until 8 p.m.

Lorraine was born January 28, 1934, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to the late Worth V. Colvin and Lillian McGinty Colvin. She was a member of Holy Family Catholic church and a resident of Columbus since 1984. On June 15, 1956, she wed her high school sweetheart, John Richards, and they were married for nearly 60 years.

She was an avid golfer, bowler and bridge player, and was active in the Officers’ Wives Club. A talented painter, her home is decorated throughout with her pieces. She was a generous and loving wife and mother who gave back to her community by delivering Meals on Wheels for many years.

Lorraine loved to travel, and she and John stepped foot on 6 of the globe’s 7 continents. While stationed in Germany, they traveled extensively about Europe. When her children were young, the family enjoyed vacationing across the U.S in their recreational vehicle.

With the children grown, Lorraine and John fell in love with cruise ships, taking trips to Alaska, the Baltics, the Mediterranean, through the Panama Canal and to many other locales.

Lorraine loved music and seemed always to be humming a melody or singing a song as she went through her day. She also was an accomplished pianist. What many people noticed first about her were her strikingly blue eyes and ready smile.

In addition to her parents, Lorraine was preceded in death by her sister, Betty Colvin, and half-brother, Alan Miller.

Survivors include her husband, Dr. John C. Richards, (Col., U.S. Army (Ret.); daughter, Jan Patterson of Omaha, NE; two sons, John Richards and his wife Rochelle of Seattle, WA, and Jeff Richards and his wife Ginger of Dallas, TX; six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and two half-brothers, Jere Miller and Lee Miller of Minnesota.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Arrangements under the direction of Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, Columbus, GA.