Jimmy Richardson went to join the Lord and Celia in heaven for eternity on 24 February, 2026 in Albuquerque, NM. He was born on April 30, 1935, in the ten-room farmhouse, belonging to his parents, Harold and Iris Richardson, in upper Lancaster County, SC. Twenty minutes later his unanticipated twin sister, Floy was born (a big surprise for Mom and Dad); 18 months later, his sister, Norma, then,14 months later, his brother, Gene were born. That made four siblings in less than three years. Then, late comer, Merrilyn, was born twelve years after Gene. The house was also home to a maternal great grandmother, maternal grandfather and grandmother, aunt, and another aunt and uncle, and a cousin (who gave birth while there) while her husband served in Europe during WWII. It was a busy place! The house had no indoor plumbing or running water until Jimmy went off to college, but with plenty of love.

The farm produced cotton, corn, grain hay, hogs, cattle, and chickens, and lots of vegetables. Home-grown canned and, later, frozen fruit, vegetables and meat sustained the family year round. Two of young Jimmy’s happiest days were in 1945 when a Ford tractor replaced the mules and horses, and in 1947 when ten Jersey milk cows replaced growing 10 acres of cotton as a cash crop. About a year later the milk cows were replaced by a small herd of beef cows – no more milking by hand twice a day.

Jimmy and Floy and a neighbor boy began first grade in a one-room, one teacher, six grade grammar school (Osceola). The school lacked in many ways, like indoor plumbing & no kitchen, but not in academic rigor. They learned the multiplication tables through 12 in the first grade! From the second through sixth grades, they attended Belair grammar school where each teacher had two grades. Eventually, in 1953 they graduated from Indian Land High School with a class of 14 – three girls and eleven boys. Norma, Gene and Merrilyn all joined Jimmy as Indian Land High valedictorians with Floy as salutatorian. Jimmy drove a school bus during his last three years there with an age waiver for the sophomore year. He played high school basketball and baseball and was the quarterback his senior year. He enrolled at Clemson A&M College and in 1957 graduated with a BS with high honors in Agricultural Engineering and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the USAF. While waiting for his Air Force pilot training class to begin in April 1958 at Malden Air Base, MO, he worked as a plant engineer trainee at Ralston Purina in Charlotte, NC.

The second week of June 1959 was a momentous one for Jimmy; he was awarded his USAF pilot wings at Craig AFB, AL, was promoted to First Lieutenant, and got married in Columbia, SC, all within a week. He and his future bride, Celia Crook, had first met at a 4-H Club summer camp where she was a camper and he was a camp lifeguard during the summer of 1954 after his freshman year at Clemson. After a brief honeymoon in the NC mountains, they went to Reno, NV, for USAF helicopter pilot school. He then served as an Air Force helicopter pilot in the H-19 A&B, the UH-1B, C, D, F, G, H, & N/P, the CH-3C, the H-43B, and CH-21B at Plattsburgh AFB, NY, Whiteman AFB, MO, Nakon Phanom AB, Thailand, Nha Trang and Binh Thuy Air Bases, Vietnam, Bolling AFB, DC, and Andrews AFB, MD. After the Binh Thuy tour, he was awarded two VNAF medals and honorary VNAF and US Army pilot wings by South Vietnam vice president Ky. He also piloted the C-47, C-123, L-20, and C-131 at various times and places. Their three children, Jill, Joe, and Harold, were born during those six years. After going back to school at the Air Force Institute of Technology for a Master’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering in 1973, Jimmy began the second half of his thirty-year career as a nuclear research officer at Kirtland AFB, NM. He retired as the Air Force Director of Nuclear Surety in April 1988. Then, for six years, he was employed by Sandia National Laboratories as a nuclear weapon detonation safety analyst. He continued at Sandia as a consultant for three years, finally retiring for good in 2000.

Jimmy’s dear wife and soulmate for 61+ years died after a sudden and severe stroke on Sept 17, 2020. Jimmy’s survivors include sisters Norma Johnson of Greenville, SC, and Merrilyn Long of Summerville, SC, daughter Jill (Pete) Narushof of Albuquerque, son Joe and daughter in-laws Donna Hayden of Los Alamos, NM, and Suzy of Salida, CO, son Harold (Celeste) of Denver, CO and grandchildren Ben and Becca Narushof, Haylee, Sam, and Alex Richardson as well as seventeen great grand nieces and nephews. Twin sister Floy died in June 2022 and brother Gene died in Jan 2025.

Nothing pleased the five siblings and spouses and children more than gathering to tell stories from the past, which they did frequently. Two family trips stand out as especially memorable, one was in 1994 when all ten siblings and spouses rented two RVs and toured the splendors of the Four Corners of northern NM, northern Arizona, southern Utah, and southwestern Colorado for two weeks. Jimmy made all arrangements for this. The other was at Edisto Beach, SC, for a week in a huge rental home for the whole family (ten siblings and thirteen grandkids), right on the beach, with catered meals to celebrate Jimmy and Celia’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. Celia made all these arrangements.

Jimmy was an active member of Asbury United Methodist Church since 1979. He served his church as a grade 5&6 Sunday School teacher and on many and various committees, both in the local church and in the New Mexico Annual Conference. 

His life will be remembered and celebrated at a memorial service at Asbury UMC, 10,000 Candelaria Road in Albuquerque on 9 April 2026 at 3 PM. Asbury Methodist Church will have the live stream link on their website for those who may not be able to attend in person. The Church’s website is www.asburyabq.org and should have additional information and contacts. Cremation has taken place and interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery, VA at a later date. If desired, donations may be made to Asbury UMC, 10,000 Candelaria Road, Albuquerque, NM 87112.