A tribute to Stephen and Mary Elizabeth Richardson
•Part One
"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." --- Winston Churchill
Stephen Lowrey Richardson (1933-1999) and his lovely wife Mary Elizabeth Stewart Richardson have always been pillars of the community. Growing up in Franklinton, I have known the remarkable couple my whole life. Good as gold, they are renowned in Washington Parish. In a delightful conversation with Ms. Mary Elizabeth, I was astonished to learn that she is a native of North Louisiana and not Franklinton. Without missing a beat, she answered, "I must have fit in." She did so exceptionally well, and with such grace.
Starting at the beginning brings us back to the Richardsons. The ancestral background may have a familiar ring as it was detailed in a series of columns recently published in February and March. Collecting stories, I timed it this way, approaching both Mr. Dick Richardson and Ms. Mary Elizabeth Richardson last year.
Born in August of 1933 to John Pinkney Richardson (1900-1975) and wife Katherine Varnado Richardson (1907-1992), Stephen grew up in Franklinton with his sisters Katherine Joan Richardson Simmons, who married Ottis Simmons, and Anita Richardson, who married Dick Magee. Though the family lived in town, they often visited their paternal grandparents, the late Stephen Pinkney "Pink" Richardson (1849-1907) and wife Lena Leota Burch Richardson (1864-1952) in the bucolic country.
It is notable that Pink, the son of William Porter Richardson (1824-1875) and Nancy Lampton Richardson, owned and operated a general mercantile at Fisher and served as postmaster of the post office at Richardson. Not only did the two - merchant and postmaster - go hand in hand back in that day, but both were positions of prominence. So it stood to reason that Pink was a Master Mason in the Franklinton Lodge. Erudite, he also was a proponent of education, becoming a trustee of the Gorman School, before it was parish operated. In addition, he was a politician, serving as Parish Clerk of Court, beginning in 1873, for nearly twenty-five years and as Louisiana State Representative (one term in 1892). But Pink, with a strong work ethic, had his priorities straight - a devout Methodist, he donated the land and helped build the Fisher Methodist Church. He also built the church pews.
It appears to me that young Stephen was a chip off the old block, taking after his father and grandfather. He had fond memories of sleeping on the porch at the Richardson home in the country with a raft of cousins. A passel of children had been born to Pink and Leota Richardson, connecting many locals. For example, with their fathers’ brothers, Steve Richardson and Dick Richardson, son of Frank Lampton Richardson and wife Nora Wood Richardson, were first cousins.
To recap, Stephen's grandparents Pink and Leota Richardson, who were married in 1881, were Biblically fruitful, having offspring galore: Myra Dee Richardson (1883-1887); Rosa Vidette Richardson (1892-1978), who married Eddie H. O'Mara; Hammond Eustis Richardson (1888-1940), who married Allie Burris; Alice Richardson (1888-1972), who married Varnado Jones; Mary Ella Richardson (1882-1969), who married Jacob Kinza "Jake" Johnson; Hazel Richardson (1890-1971), who married Thomas Edward "Ed" Foil; Anita Richardson (1898-1992), who married Alvin Ray Willard; Eloise Leota Richardson (1896-1983), who married William Carey Graves; Frank Lampton Richardson, who married Nora Wood; John Pinkney Richardson (1900-1975), who married Katherine Varnado; Walton J. Richardson (1902-1956), who married Clarice Magee; Lamar Merriot Richardson (1906-1978), who married Alma Ernestine Burris; and Chretien Lorett Richardson (1894-1956), who married Inez Moore.
Stephen's Uncle Walton Richardson, proprietor of the Richardson Gin and Feed Mill in Franklinton, and his wife Clarice Magee Richardson, who had no children of their own, doted on his nephews and nieces. Stephen, known to townspeople as Mr. Steve, reminisced about Halloween with his daughter Kay (McCain). His Uncle Walton and Aunt Clarice, who lived on Williams Street in Babington subdivision, precariously perched on tree branches, scaring their trick-or-treating nieces and nephews. Perhaps a mimosa or magnolia. Of her great-aunt and uncle, Kay reflected, "They were being the goblins, I guess." Having great kin folks made growing up in Franklinton pretty spectacular in the 1930s and 1940s. Everyone should be so lucky.
Stephen was educated in the Franklinton school system, where he played sports including football and basketball. He also ran track. And a good-looking fellow, he was selected Most Handsome at Franklinton High School where he graduated in 1951. He did a stint as a Sergeant in the U. S. Army, serving in Germany during the Korean conflict. And he landed at Louisiana Tech in Ruston where he met Mary Elizabeth Stewart, the daughter of Archie and Adele Stewart, of Tallulah. Born there in 1937, she grew up in the small North Louisiana town, which bears similarity to Franklinton, with her brother Archie Madison Stewart, Jr. Ms. Mary Elizabeth graduated from Tallulah High School in 1955.
Coup de foudre for the young couple - Stephen Richardson and Mary Elizabeth Stewart, who began courting in 1957, wed in 1958 in Tallulah. After graduation - he earned a degree in business and she received a degree in education - the Richardsons moved to Stephen's hometown of Franklinton, the place they belonged, in 1959. And blessings were in store, both for the newlyweds and for the community of Franklinton.
•Stay tuned for Part 2 and the life of Stephen "Steve" and Mary Elizabeth Richardson in Franklinton.
Note: My sources for the historical information on Stephen Pinckney Richardson include conversation with Mary Elizabeth Richardson and Kay Richardson McCain; conversation with Dick Richardson; the treatise "History of Washington Parish, Louisiana 1798-1992 The Story of a Land and People on Three Rivers: The Pearl, The Bogue Chitto, and The Tangipahoa in Southeast Louisiana" by Dr. E. Russ Williams, Jr.; information posted online by Bonnie Dier, of the Washington Parish Library; and my own research.
