Esther (Schuler) Richardson

We sadly announce that Esther Richardson passed away at her home, the Eston Jubilee Lodge on the evening of Wednesday, October 21rst, 2020 with her son, Dale by her side. Her final journey was supported by love, family, faith and friends. Family offered final conversations, messages, videos, recorded music and bedside support. Spiritual comfort through faith was provided by Barb MacNaughton her minister and friend. The staff at the Jubilee Lodge provided compassionate care to help her in her final days.

She was predeceased by her Mother Mary Schuler (Schimpf) when Esther was only an infant, father John Schuler and stepmother Magdalina (Oberlander), brothers Ted (Joy), Alvin (Dorothy), Art (Norma) and Glen, sister Viola (Don) Macpherson and three infant siblings at birth. She is survived by her brother, Lawrence.

She was predeceased by her husband, Freddie after 45 years of marriage

Mom’s early life was difficult. She was born on January 5, 1920 at Burstall, Saskatchewan and her mother, Mary, died of diphtheria in the fall of the same year. The poverty of an immigrant family escaping the Russian revolution, the depression and Dirty Thirties, and the demand to leave school to support her family in her early teens all could have scarred her. She took a different path. She always had the love of her mother’s family as they never forgot her. She found comfort in her faith and lived by the Golden Rule. Her bond with her brothers, sister and extended family was unbreakable and they returned the love she shared. She worked hard and finally in 1945 she went to Portland, Oregon to meet her mother’s family that included her beloved Aunt Esther and her grandmother. Those early life experiences and her faith moulded the loving, caring, happy person we all cherished.

She met Freddie Richardson after WW II and they were married December 20, 1947. They made their home in Lacadena and retired in Eston. 

They had a son Dale and a daughter Shirley. Shirley married Richard Akister and Dale married Pamela Akister.  She has five grandchildren;  Michael Akister, Kristi Akister, Aaron (Dana) Richardson, Lindsay (Dane) Stennes and Ashley (Andy) Phaneuf and six great grandchildren;  Avery and Lyla Stennes, Finnick and Milo Phaneuf, Max and Karina Richardson.  She was a very proud grandma/great grandma that covered her walls with their pictures.

 Her daughter-in-law Pam, son-in-law Richard, grandsons-in-law Dane Stennes and Andy Phaneuf and granddaughter-in-law Dana Richardson were part of her family and she was eagerly part of their lives.

 She had a unique laugh and loved to tell stories and jokes. She cared about everyone, wanted to help and was a good, happy person that generated warmth and love in return. She was a homemaker, cook, newspaper correspondent, Avon sales representative, cake decorator, community college instructor and postmistress.  She learned to bake when flour was all her family had, she learned to cook when potatoes, seasonal garden produce and scraps from the butcher were all that was available. She learned to sew, knit, crochet, and quilt to have clothes for herself and her family. She developed an easy expertise that she shared with family and friends. She helped in the Lodge Kitchen and was until recently, teaching how to crochet.

Mom was active in every community she lived in, supporting her church and choir, curling, playing ball, and volunteering at sports days, bonspiels, and fowl suppers,. She was a competitive card player and loved a game of bridge, cribbage, canasta and hand and foot. If friends or family weren’t available she would play endless games of solitaire or word search puzzles. She loved to read and write and had a special interest in natural health products. After Freddie’s passing she got her driver’s license and drove into her 90’s. When she was filling out a life review form she said that if she could live her life over again she would get married 10 years sooner to the same man!  She loved to visit, celebrate weddings, births, anniversaries and she especially enjoyed her 100th birthday earlier this year.  She wasn’t without health challenges but she overcame them or endured them and carried on. Her kind, compassionate, happy nature is part of the legacy of her family and everyone she called a friend.

Let Me Go
When I come to the end of the road and the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom filled room, why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little, but not for long and not with your head bowed low
Remember the loves that once we shared, miss me but let me go
For this is a journey we all must take and each must go alone
It’s all part of the master plan, a step on the road to home
When you are lonely and sick at heart go to friends we know,
laugh at all the things we used to do,
miss me but let me go.

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