Austin Jayden Richardson

Austin Jayden Richardson graced the planet on May 16, 2002, around dinnertime in Greenville, North Carolina, to Melanie Saunders Piggott Richardson and Ramon Richardson. On Saturday, September 9, 2023, he quietly departed unexpectedly. Austin was born with severe autism and struggled to exist in a world where he wasn't understood or even accepted. He was brave and strong and perceived the world through pictures. He had a photographic memory and perfect pitch. He loved different genres of music and food. He lived for music and loved the musical keyboard. He never forgot a face. Austin was well loved, sheltered, and doted on by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Saunders Temple and his grandfather, Paul Temple. He was curious, mischievous, determined, and a self-learner. He preferred learning new things on his own.

Austin was preceded in death by his mother, Melanie; his brother, Christian Marleaux Richardson; his maternal great-grandmother, Heraline Saunders Holmes; his maternal great-grandfather, Harrison Paige of Lottsburg, Virginia; and his paternal grandparents.

Those who live to cherish his memory are Elnora Saunders Temple and Paul Temple; his father, Ramon Richardson; his maternal grandfather, Edward Piggott, Jr.; his Uncle Brett Piggott (Erin Green) of Charlotte, North Carolina; his first cousin, Adira Greene-Piggott; his great-aunt Joyce Brenda Mines (Steve); his great-uncle Walter Holmes, Jr. (Sandy); and all of the dedicated teachers, teaching assistants, and therapists who provided care at school and in our home for Austin (Sarah Alexis, Mary Robinson, and Monechia Bryant) and others who worked with him to better navigate our world; a host of maternal and paternal cousins and others who cared about him.

We thank the staff of Nelsen's Funeral Home for the gentleness and dignity afforded Austin while in their care. I was moved by the way that he was carried out of our home in the soft embrace of a blanket. This imagery helped lessen our burden. Our boy was in caring hands.