Tammi Richardson

Born on August 4 th , 1957 in Amarillo, Texas, the daughter of an Army officer, Tammi lived a semi-nomadic childhood. Perpetually the new kid in school, she developed an affability that enabled her to make friends wherever she went throughout her life. In conversation, she consistently expressed a sincere interest in the lives and cares of those she spoke with and rarely talked about herself. She remembered names and birthdays, followed up on life events and commemorated them with thoughtful gifts. In her smallest gestures, one could detect a generous heart.

Even in her adult life, she never stayed in one place long. She raised her two sons, Wayne and Blake, in Clifton, married her second husband, Lonny, in League City, retired in rural north Texas, and spent her last years in Fredericksburg. Tammi might have said that Texas was her home, but those who knew her best knew that home was wherever she was with Lonny. The best years of her life were spent with him. Whether it was trading weekends between Clifton and Fort Worth, navigating the busy suburbs of Houston, planting trees and gardens in the idyllic north Texas, or the enjoying the warm and friendly retirement community outside Fredericksburg, they were companions together through life. He brought out the best in her and, as she never tired of saying, “He makes me laugh everyday.” A love without limits. Though Tammi retired from Texas New Mexico Power Company, where she held various administrative and management positions, in 200?, life after her career was where her labor really flourished. From the delicate art of flower-arranging to manual work of replacing house siding, no task was too intimidating and she never took up a new skill that she didn’t master.

These crafts provided an outlet for her abounding generosity. No grandchild of hers was left without stacks of burp cloths, bibs, and blankets, all personalized and embroidered with their names and the most charming designs. And she didn’t limit her giving to her family. Even today her stained glass artworks hang in the kitchens of old neighbors; friends’ grandchildren still wear her embroidered onesies, and sons and daughters of her son’s wife’s cousins sleep under her beautifully crafted quilts, keepsakes of her enduring and widespread kindness.

It was in this work that she modeled self-improvement for her sons and step-daughters, Lindsey and Kelsey, long after they had left home. She taught her children the value of being responsible, considerate, and grateful in their youth but she also taught them, through her example, that adulthood is not an entitlement to rights but another phase of life with endless opportunities to learn and grow in deeper and more profound ways. Whether it was a new cooking technique or a new method of cleaning, she sought out the pleasures of the mundane. She was humble when faced with her mistakes and she chose forgiveness over resentment. She showed us how to face pain with grace and how to find joy in simple things.

Known as “Mimi” to her grandchildren, Tammi left indelible memories as a fun, exciting, and creative grandmother. She always inquired after her grandkids’ interests and spent hours searching for just the right design for a shirt, the right fabric for a dress, or the right theme for a quilt. She loved nothing more than toiling away in her sewing room with the grandkids at her side as she guided their hands to feed the sewing machine or to smooth out a new ironed-on designs on t-shirts. She had a special knack for sparking their interests, holding their attention, and patiently managing their child-like energies, another outward manifestation of deep and uncontainable affection.

Tammi knew no boundaries to her love for others. Even when cancer disabled her ability to eat, she still took joy in cooking for others. And when it hindered her ability to talk, she still brought life to any gathering. She faced the ordeal of her last two years with grace and poise and a patience that surpasses understanding.

Tammi Richardson died at home under hospice care on June 22, 2023. She was 65.

She is survived by her husband, Lonny Richardson; brother, Rhett Martin and his wife Irene; uncle, Max Martin; cousins Meg and Melissa; son, Wayne Reed and his wife Sheila; son, Blake Reed and his wife Lindsey; step-daughter, Lindsey Slavinsky and her husband Todd; step-daughter, Kelsey Jendrzey and her husband Paul; her niece, Meredith Foster; her grandchildren, Ethan, Caden, Seth, Kieran, Reva, Sydney, Blayke, John, Keelin, Reed, and Brett; and a great-grandson, Waylon.

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