Debra Richardson

Funeral services for Debra Richardson were held on Friday, September 1, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at Clausen Funeral Home in Burke, SD, with Reverend Thanael Certa-Werner officiating. Music was provided by Steve Swanson. Casket bearers were Chad Heyden, Brad Hutchison, Kip Swedlund, Todd Beck, Pat Broome, and Travis Serr. Honorary casket bearers were all of her former students. Interment was in the Spotted Tail Cemetery in Jamison, NE. Clausen Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Debra Jean Richardson was born April 15, 1966, to Elmer and Ruby Richardson at the Memorial Hospital in Burke, SD. She was the fifth of six children. She was baptized and confirmed in the Jamison Methodist Church. She attended Spotted Tail Elementary School near Jamison, NE, and graduated from Burke High School with the Class of 1984. She then attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. While there, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Paris. This was the beginning of her love of England and France.

She taught at Toulouse, France; Brainerd, MN; Lamar, CO; Wootton Bassett, England; and Bismarck, ND. After eight years of North Dakota winters, she decided to try something completely different. She purchased and ran a yarn shop in Cirencester, England. This allowed her to enjoy her favorite activities: knitting, visiting, and drinking tea. After several years of being a shopkeeper, UK immigration laws changed and she had to move back to the United States. She settled in Nebraska near her brother Charles and his family and became a teacher again. She enjoyed teaching, but she also enjoyed the summer breaks so she could travel. She took many students on European tours, but always had time for her online yarn shop and family, especially her nieces and nephews.

Debra had made a trip to England in July to catch up with her many friends and to visit a castle or two. She was starting to make plans for her retirement from teaching which would include much knitting and traveling. Sadly, her plans did not come to fruition. On August 25, 2023, she passed away in her sleep at her home in Bellevue, NE. She was 57 years old.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, her parents, her brother Tom, many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

She is survived by her sisters Dorothy of Jamison, NE, and Barbara of Herrick, SD; brothers Leslie of Jamison, NE, and Charles (Lisa) of Valley, NE; nieces and nephews Samantha, Siobhan, Jacob, and Elizabeth; aunt Kathy Titus; many cousins; friends in the US and Europe;