Judith Anne Queen Richardson

February 2, 1940 – January 23, 2024

RANDLEMAN — Judith “Judy” Anne Queen Richardson, 83, of Randleman was called to her heavenly home surrounded by her loved ones on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, just 10 days shy of her 84th birthday.

She was born in High Point, NC, on Feb. 2, 1940, to John Coyt Queen and Gladys Ethel Harvel Queen.

Judy lived most of her life in Randleman, NC, where she was a member of First Baptist Church. She loved her church and everyone in it, and taught Sunday school (Faithful Workers class) for over 50 years. She was also on the hospitality committee and a member of the women’s ministry for Randolph Baptist Association. She was very involved in helping the church food pantry for many years and taught school in the Randolph County school system for 33 years.

Judy was an exceptionally caring, generous and loving wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister-in-law, friend and just an all-round wonderful person. She lived her life with purpose, grace and dignity and there are simply not enough words to adequately convey the essence of who she was. 

Judy was so loved by all who were fortunate enough to know her. She always saw the best in people and truly led her life by example. She was always thinking of and doing for others, it was never about her. Her ever gentle, calm and reassuring presence will be sorely missed by us all.  

She was a doting “Nana” to her four grandsons — Corbin, Austin, Alex and Jackson — and was always interested in whatever they were doing and loved talking about them to anyone willing to listen. 

In an ever busy and frenetic world, she was always a safe haven and voice of reason and calm reassurance. She was always ready and willing to lend a hand, provide a home cooked meal, visit a sick friend, or just be there for anyone in need.

Judy was also a very positive and optimistic person who loved to laugh. She loved a good joke as well as a good riddle. She had a very lighthearted and accepting personality that made her a pleasure to be around. Judy was the epitome of a lifelong learner and voracious reader. 

She loved all types of books and literally read hundreds during her lifetime. While she enjoyed reading all genres, she always said that her favorite was historical fiction because of all the facts you could learn from it. She was a true wizard at Jeopardy which she watched religiously and astounded us all by her wealth of knowledge. 

She may have been from a small town, but her mind literally knew no bounds as she was equally adept in discussing literature, culture, sports and politics. She had her own opinions but always staunchly believed that relationships with people took priority over politics and respected opinions other than her own even if she didn’t always agree or understand them.

Judy lived her life as an adventure and loved to travel. As soon as she finished one trip, she would immediately start thinking about and planning the next one. She visited 42 states and 7 countries and while she loved them all, she particularly loved her visit to France and seeing the Eiffel Tower, as well as visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and cruising the Rhine River in the summer of 2018. She also enjoyed visiting the mountains and loved the beach and watching the ocean and enjoyed walking in the surf and looking for shells. Judy just loved life … and was blessed to travel and enjoy many wonderful trips with her family.

Judy loved her family above all else, and recently celebrated her 65th wedding anniversary on Dec. 20, 2023, with the love of her life, Richard Richardson. She always made every holiday, birthday and any occasion extra special with her delicious cakes, cookies, pies and delicious meals she loved to make for all of us. She was an equally talented cook as well as baker, and everyone enjoyed eating her creations just as much as she enjoyed making them. 

Judy is survived by her loving family: husband, Richard Richardson of Randleman; her son, Marc Richardson (Gwen) of Asheboro; her daughter, Rita Brown (John) of Doylestown, PA; and son, Ronald “Ronny” Richardson (Tiffany) of Cary.  She is also survived by her grandsons, Corbin Richardson, Alex Brown and Jackson Richardson. 

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her daughter, Leigh Anne Richardson; grandson, Austin Brown; and brother, Johnnie Farrell Queen.

Judy’s peaceful presence and loving spirit were a blessing to us all and we are eternally grateful for the gift of having her in our lives for as long as we did. She will be dearly missed, but she loved and was loved in equal measure and left a lasting legacy that we will forever cherish.

Relatives and friends are invited to a memorial service which will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at First Baptist Church of Randleman, 100 N. Main Street. A Life Celebration and luncheon will be held at Balfour Baptist Church of Asheboro, 1642 N. Fayetteville, immediately following. Per Judy's request, please wear bright colors to celebrate her love of life. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Judy’s honor to:

— Bethel Colony of Mercy, 1675 Bethel Colony Rd, Lenoir, NC 28645.

— and/or Shriner’s Children Hospital, PO Box 947765, Atlanta, GA 30394.