Funeral services for 91-year old Lillian “Babe” Richardson are Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 11am at the Crawford United Methodist Church.
Inurnment will follow at the Crawford cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Crawford Fire Department and the Crawford United Methodist Church. Donations can be sent to Chamberlain Chapel, PO Box 970, Chadron, NE 69337.
Online condolences may be left at chamberlainchapel.com
Lillian May (Babe) Richardson was born Sept 5th, 1931, in Kimball, NE, to parents Paul and Mary Brown. She passed away on Monday Feb 27, 2023 at the Brookstone Meadows Skilled Nursing Center in Elkhorn, NE, surrounded by her sons.
Babe attended grade school in the rural Scottsbluff area and graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1950. After high school, she worked as a wrangler at the Wildcat Dude Ranch and hostess at Bernie’s Corral Restaurant in the Scottsbluff area.
Babe then moved to Ohio, where she attended college and worked as an airline ticket agent. Babe took flying lessons on a single-engine taildragger airplane while living in Ohio.
Eventually, she moved back to Nebraska where she met her future husband while working as a bank teller in Scottsbluff. A co-worker invited her to go out with a group of friends and set Babe up on a blind date with Robert “Bob” Richardson.
In January of 1959, Babe and Bob were united in marriage. To this union were born three sons: Don, Marvin and Robert. The couple lived on the family ranch northwest of Crawford until 1974 when they moved to a home in the city of Crawford.
Babe worked as head of housekeeping for Fort Robinson and for many years at the Ponderosa Nursing Home in Crawford. She was very active in the community belonging to many clubs and organizations and was a staunch supporter of the Crawford Fire Department.
Babe was a member of the Crawford United Methodist Church (UNMC) and became a representative from the Panhandle region of Nebraska for the United Methodist Nebraska conference.
In her late 70’s she became a lay speaker with the UNMC and for multiple years served as pastor for the Harrison United Methodist Church and interim pastor at Crawford UNMC.
Babe loved to embroider and quilt, winning awards with her quilts. She was never without a camera, taking pictures of her family, friends and flower garden at every opportunity. She was an avid reader of mystery novels and enjoyed being part of the Crawford community.
Babe was a devoted wife, mother, friend and grandmother.
Preceding her in death were her husband Robert (Bob) Richardson, father Paul Brown, mother Mary Krieg, stepfather Marvin Nelson, sister Violet Becker. and many close friends and relatives.
Babe is survived by her three sons and their families: Don and Mary Ann Richardson of Winton, NC, Marvin and Margo Richardson of Albuquerque, NM, and Bob and Rhonda Richardson of Omaha, NE; grandchildren Andrew and Kaitlinn Richardson, step-grandchildren Maria Sargent, Melissa Adams, Erin O’Reilly, Katie Britt, Carissa Lawson, Melissa Phillips, CJ Hines, and Shurri Marie.
Chamberlain Chapel of Chadron is in charge of arrangements for Lillian “Babe” Richardson.