My most fond memory of Jan was when we spent time together at the HDMA conference in Washington D.C. in Oct. 2008.  We toured Mt. Vernon together with a group.  Both of us talked as we admired the grounds.  She was so nice to be with.  She truly enjoyed everything around her. I will miss her as we all will.

Swamp buggies, canals, family and friends

Jan and I met at a get-together shortly after we both had moved to Rock Island, Illinois in the fall of 1973. That first meeting was the beginning of a lifelong connection........a song, really,...that has resonated for nearly 40 years across the miles....she was the person who was there when i needed to drop off one child to rush to the hospital to have another; she was the one who said, ."...let's take a pottery class together...",then, "...let's try that stained glass class...." which began a lifelong love of everything ceramic, hand-crafted and lovely....she was the gutsy lady who spent a week with me at the bottom of the grand canyon. leaping boulders and purifying drinking water, she was the one who was always  trying something new in the kitchen, and who pointed me in the direction of the Viking Sewing Machine Center.....she and I have made music across the miles with the hum of that sturdy piece of machinery.....and come to think of it, sturdy is what Jan was all about: her stunning beauty was no mask for the most resilient, honest, down-to-earth, creative person I have ever known....I feel so lucky that she was my friend.......the memories are rock-solid and form the framework of who I am and who my kids are.....from cross-country trips with her sharing the driving and kid-entertaining,  to camping, canoeing, meeting in Chicago at the King Tut Exhibit, scanning the sky for Haley's Comet in Washington with her and George and Sarah and baby Jessica, playing on the beaches of San Diego, laughing our sox off around the pool in Palm Desert, the beach on Grand Cayman, the porch at Rockbridge Stables, the world's largest Christmas ornament store in Frankenmuth, in fact, laughing our sox off in lots of places...regardless of where we were, the fun was pervasive.....and she claims she never designed it, but of all her countless gifts to me, the best is Gordy Arnold...she and George pulled the two of us from opposite ends of the universe, surrounded us with their love, and then seemed very surprised that it infected the two of us..........the finest day of the new millennium saw Jan and George at our sides on the beach in Encinitas, California, and if the vows we made to each other that day come even close to the kindness, patience, and unconditional love that we saw in those two, we will be fine...more than fine.....I will never say goodbye, she is so much a part of me....she’s there every time I struggle to identify a tree, or put together the pieces of a pattern, or taste banana bread, or plant a seed........I will always love her and miss her and see her in the countless places we laughed and played......she was just THE BEST.

Dear Jessica, John H. and the Richards family - we were sorry to learn of your mom's passing.  Having met Jessica on several occasions with John Hosgood - we know what a great mom she had. Jess - you reflect your both your parents graces. Your mother is still with you and always will be.  May your memories of her bring a smile in the days ahead.

Susie and Steve Kirschner

Thirty years ago, our new neighbors, Jan and George Richards, joined us for a day of celebration in honor of our son's high school graduation. Jack remembers thinking what a beautiful young woman Jan was. For the next thirty years we saw that her beauty was not only on the outside. Her kindness. gentlemess, and lovliness will be greatly missed. Jack and Peggi Batcheck

OBITUARY

Jan F. Richards

25 February, 1951 – 6 August, 2010

Schoedinger Midtown

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