Alberta L. Richardson

Alberta "Bert" Larie Richardson was born November 26, 1924 in Gove County Kansas to Uless Spicer Turley and Daisy Florence (Coffey) Turley. She was the 9th of 10 children. As a child, growing up on a farm in western Kansas wasn't always easy for her. She had many chores and jobs around the house. Being the second youngest out of ten children, there was never a dull moment. Her favorite pastime was riding horses, which allowed her some time for herself. Her attire during her younger days was only dresses made by her mother out of flour sacks. Alberta wore these dresses when she attended local dances with her other siblings as a form of entertainment. Her grandfather once tried to get her to dance, but was unsuccessful because Alberta was shy when she was younger. Alberta also tells a story of when she and two of her siblings walked six miles to attend a dance. When they arrived, they sadly realized that the dance was over. However, she did not focus on the disappointment of missing the dance; she took time to notice how beautiful the moon was that night. Alberta graduated from eighth grade and stopped attending school in order to help her family around the farm. It was during this time that she found her love for nature, singing and writing songs and her love of God. She belonged to the Assembly of God Church and loved singing at church. She even wrote a few songs. She and her little brother loved fishing and she carried that love into her adulthood with her husband, Bob. Before Alberta married Bob, she was married twice. Her and her first husband dated for a year, they were married for less than a year. She was married to her second husband for eleven years, but it didn't work out. She met Bob through her second husband and she knew he was the one. Alberta never had kids herself, but she treated Bob's two children like her own. Bob and Alberta immediately moved to California after they began dating, and lived there until 1968, when they moved back to Kansas. Bob and Alberta loved fishing and continued to do so after they began living in Rantoul and then Pomona, Kansas. She talks about all of the crazy times that they had while fishing. One time, Bob cast out a fishing line and the sinker flung back to hit Alberta right between the eyes. She also recalls when Bob would go fishing by himself, usually coming back unsuccessful. It is evident that they were always better together. Bob and Alberta gardened and raised rabbits also. They canned what they grew and butchered rabbits that kept their pantry and freezer full. Whether it was laughing at Bob in their wedding because Bob was mumbling from nervousness, or just enjoying the moment. Sadly, Bob passed away in the fall of 2004. Alberta continued to lead a wonderful, happy life, she moved to Ottawa where she joined the Foursquare Community Church. She enjoyed going to the ladies group, helping with church garage sales, going to the women's conferences, the music concerts that came to Foursquare, Bible Study/Prayer meetings and just the general fellowship. She and her Great Niece became very good friends and were seen together everywhere. She loved going to the shop for late nights talking and folding screen printed shirts, going to Ottawa Main Street events and just driving around. She loved going to family gatherings at all the holidays, birthdays, ball games, graduations, weddings, baby showers, and family reunions. She liked to watch the Royals play baseball and of course KU play basketball on TV, she even had choice words for the referee's and umpires. She also was a big fan of old westerns, and said it sometimes reminded her of when she was growing up. She never failed to view life optimistically, even when her life took a wrong turn. It was apparent that Alberta was full of passion and spark. From riding horses in the summer of 2006 at her family reunion to attending parties and outings with friends, she enjoyed life to its fullest. On top of that, she placed a high value on God and family. Fun, adventurous, loving, sweet and gutsy: that was Alberta. She is the last of her siblings and will be greatly missed by all the nieces and nephews of her siblings (of which she was a Great-Great-Great-Great Aunt to one niece) and her Sister-in-law Virginia Turley of Scott City Kansas. We are sure her and Bob are fishing together again in heaven! Well Done Aunt Alberta, Well Done! In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Ottawa Main Street Association or Foursquare Community Church and sent to the care of Lamb-Roberts Funeral Homes. P. O. Box 14, Ottawa, KS 66067. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Alberta L. Richardson please visit our Sympathy Store.

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