Esther Richardson
Esther Richardson of Columbia died Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. She was 91.
Born April 4, 1920, in Woodford County, Ill., Mrs. Richardson was the daughter of Myrtle and Arthur McCammon. She attended Carlock High School, where she graduated in 1938.
Less than a year after their first date on Dec. 7, 1941 — the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor — , Esther and J. Harry Richardson were married on June 9, 1942. Their marriage lasted for 58 years until he died in September 2001.
Mrs. Richardson is remembered as a resourceful, kind mother.
"She had two favorite phrases," her daughter Ellyn Richardson said. "One was, 'I'll give you something to cry about,' and her favorite was, 'Because I said so.'"
She remembered her mother as exceptionally organized and a talented seamstress, who loved to watch football and always made a homemade birthday cake.
As the daughter of a carpenter, Mrs. Richardson often borrowed a phrase from carpentry, Ellyn Richardson said.
"Pert nigh, not plum," she said. "Pretty close, but not perfect. She said it all the time."
Mrs. Richardson worked for General American Life Insurance and then Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, both in St. Louis, until she retired in 1985. She moved to Columbia in 1990.
Her husband and her son, Garry, died earlier.
Mrs. Richardson is survived by her two daughters, Ellyn Richardson, of Columbia, and Dee Michael and her husband, Ted, of Hannibal; four granddaughters and nine great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 101 N. Grace Lane, in Columbia. Services will follow at 11 a.m. Burial will be at Hickman Cemetery in Clarksburg.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Coyote Hill Christian Children's Home, P.O. Box 1, Harrisburg, MO 65256, or Thru the Bible Radio, P.O. Box 7100, Pasadena, CA 91109. Condolences may be left at www.parkerfuneralservice.com.
