Patricia Kay Richardson

Patty was born on July 13, 1943, in Findlay, Ohio, to Richard Correll Blackman and Vopal Pauline Hathaway. She grew up in Bradner, Ohio, and went on to study English Education at Bowling Green State University where she was a member of Alpha Xi Delta social sorority and Sigma Tau Delta English honor society. She met James Richardson at BGSU and they married in 1965. They lived in Ohio for another 11 years where three children joined their family: Laney Beth Berry (Brad) of Muscatine, Iowa, Jonathan Richardson of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Dr. Emily Richardson of Windsor, Colorado. Patty was a stay-at-home mother while maintaining her voracious reading habits and creating many needlework and sewing projects.

In 1976, the family moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where Patty eventually began teaching at West Des Moines Valley High School. She found teaching various language arts and speech classes stimulating and fulfilling and eventually became a talented and gifted specialist. She loved working with young people because they were honest and forthright with her. She received a Masters Degree in Education from Drake University. In the summers she taught workshops in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People which had become an inspiration to her in her personal life.

After the children were on their own, Patty and Jim began to travel. They put their bicycles atop the car and rode trails in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. They loved the National Parks in the U.S., and began to travel internationally. They visited more than 30 countries and made many wonderful friends on their travels. Patty always was curious and reading and traveling were very important to her. After retirement they eventually moved to Colorado where Patty continued volunteer work at Poudre Valley Hospital and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute where she continued to satisfy her curiosity. Although her nemesis eventually won, Patty appreciated all the wonderful experiences of her life. She will be cremated. Patty loved the outdoors and her grandsons, Brandon, Aidan, Evan, Yale, and Micah, will help scatter her cremains in wooded and desert parks in Iowa and Arizona and in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Places they explored and enjoyed together. A celebration of Patty’s life will be held at a future date.