Joan E. Richardson

Joan Elizabeth Richardson
Joan Elizabeth (Baker) Richardson, 86, of Fredonia, passed away Saturday evening, October 27, 2018, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
Born April 20, 1932, in Fredonia, the daughter of Arthur “A.L.” Baker and Lola (Loether) Baker, Joan’s mother passed away two weeks after she was born. She was raised by her great-aunts, Clara Loether and Minnie (Loether) Rice, and great uncle, Hugo Loether, and grew up in Fredonia, graduating from Fredonia High School in 1950. She was united in marriage to Kenneth Leroy Richardson on October 18, 1953, at the First Baptist Church in Fredonia.
Joan held a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English from Emporia State University and taught English in the Fredonia Unified School District for twenty-three years, retiring in 1994. As a teacher, she enjoyed literature, creative writing, debate, assisting with the Christmas Pageant verse readers, and Kayettes.
Joan was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Fredonia, United Methodist Women, 1910 Club, and served on the Boards of the Fredonia Library, Fredonia Arts Council, and Wilson County Historical Society. She was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels for many years and played in the Methodist Church Bell Choir for several years.
She was fond of art, Kansas history, bird watching, wildflowers, and watching KU basketball. She will be remembered for being a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She cherished her marriage to her husband of 63 years.
Survivors include son, Maurice “Reese” Richardson of Independence; daughter, Denise Richardson and husband Preston Prichard of Thousand Oaks, California; son, Steven Richardson of Lawrence; and grandson, Jacob Prichard of Thousand Oaks, California.
She was preceded in death by her parents, great-aunts, and uncle, three sisters, Alma, Edna and Ruth “Ruthe,” brother Merle “M.D.,” and husband Kenneth.
A celebration of life memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm, Saturday, November 10 at the First United Methodist Church in Fredonia. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, Friday, November 9 at Wickham Family Funeral Home of Fredonia. Private family inurnment will take place at a later date.
Memorial remembrances are suggested to the First United Methodist Church of Fredonia, Fredonia Library, Fredonia Arts Council, Wilson County Historical Society, or the charity of donor’s choice, and may be left at, or mailed to, the funeral home.