Joy Richardson

Memorial services for Joy Richardson will begin at 11:00 AM, Friday, July 28, 2023, in Our Lady and All Saints Chapel, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, with The Rev. Austin McGeehee officiating. Inurnment will follow in Magnolia Cemetery. Visitation in the All Saints Hall will be prior to the service at 10:00 AM. A little joy left this earth as Sophie Joy Wild Richardson joined her beloved husband, Arthur Whitfield Richardson, Sr., in their eternal Home on July 21, 2023. She was in her Hattiesburg assisted living home, Alden Pointe, surrounded by angels. On January 1,1922, Joy was born to Juanita Martha Reid and Michael Frederick Wild in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was the second of the four "Wild" girls and was always proud of that fact, of her New Year's birthday, and of her NOLA roots. When Joy and Arthur met, it was love at first sight for him, but she took a bit of convincing. They were married December 12, 1942 and were a faithful and loving couple, devoted to each other and their three children. After Arthur returned home following his WWII service in the Navy, they lived in New Orleans until Arthur's job moved their family to Meridian in 1949. Always the room mother, the scout mom, the chaperone, and the "fun" mom, Joy was SUCH a fun mom that she took Lindy and ten of her thirteen-year-old friends on a three-day trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in 1957. Then two years later, she led another Mardi Gras trip for Patty and her friends. (Note: she did not repeat with Whit!) A faithful and active member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church until, after fifty years, Joy left Meridian to live with Patty and Brian for 18 years in Baton Rouge, then Mandeville. Her home was always open to her children's friends—as long as they didn't track in dirt—and at 101 ½ years of age, she remembered and often asked about many of them. After the children were gone, Joy and Arthur traveled extensively by car. While he attended meetings, she explored new territory and made many friends across the country, particularly the Southeast. Sometimes a grandchild had the exciting gift of joining their journey. Joy's warm kitchen was a very special place-the turkey and oyster filé gumbo, shrimp creole, roast beef with tomato gravy, okra and tomato-and so much more-will be remembered forever and passed down through generations. Her family will treasure her memory through her favorite music, especially Mario Lanza and Placido Domingo. We will remember her always while enjoying a good cup of coffee-and anything chocolate. Joy is survived by her three children: Lindy Deen, Patty Keating (Brian), Whit Richardson (Gail); four grandchildren: Stacey Griffith (Greg), Scott Richardson, Kacee Yearwood (Russell), and Patrick Keating (Robyn); and nine great-grandchildren: Claire Griffith; Kylan and Triston Richardson; Will, Maddie, and Abigail Yearwood; and Reagan, Ryan, and Meredith Keating. She is survived by a niece, Renee Pitre, nephews, Andre and Jules Malarcher, and the dearest of friends, Yvette and Ed Giarrusso. Joy leaves behind her beloved Kellie Ezell and the rest of her Alden Pointe family. Her family will be eternally grateful for their love and care. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Arthur Richardson, her parents, Juanita and Michael Wild, her sisters, Orient desBordes, Juanita Malarcher, and Sue Budde, and her son-in-law, Robert B. Deen, Jr. Joy's family asks that you honor her memory by bringing a little joy into someone's life.