Carol Ray Richardson, 84, of Pinson passed away Aug. 21, 2026, in Springfield. Funeral services were 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, at Shackelford Funeral Directors - Crook Avenue Chapel with Bro. Jimmy Dyer officiating. Burial followed at Big Springs Cemetery at Five Points. The family received friends at Crook Avenue on Monday from noon until 2 p.m. service time.
She was born on Aug. 3, 1942, in Nettleton, Miss., daughter of the late Henry Harold and Nora Pauline Sanderfer Smith. She graduated in 1959 from North Side High School.
She met the love of her life, Ralph Richardson, and they married on Aug. 12, 1959. They enjoyed 62 years of marriage until his passing in 2022.
She loved to read and knew clothing like the back of her hand. If you needed a new outfit, she would know the exact size you needed and what would fit you perfectly.
If you could describe her as a mother and grandmother, it would be “Wonderful.” She loved her family dearly and they loved her. She was saved at a young age and made sure to let her family know that she would be in the hands of God at her passing. She was a member of Big Springs Methodist Church.
She is survived by a son, Chad (Rhonda) Richardson of Springfield; two daughters, Nanette Craig and Charlotte Arwood of Memphis; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a great-great grandchild.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and two daughters, Annette Moody and Janette Anderson.
