Sharon Mae Richards

Sharon Mae Richards, 89, passed away peacefully on October 10^th at Bethany Retirement Living Center in Fargo.  Sharon was born on June 26, 1934, in Lisbon, North Dakota.  She grew up in Buttzville, ND, and graduated from Lisbon High School in 1952.

Sharon married her one true love, Donald William Richards on Nov. 17, 1956, at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Lisbon, North Dakota. 

Sharon spent her lifetime extending love to everyone she met.  She loved God above all, she loved her family with her whole heart and soul, and she loved her friends unceasingly.  Seldom did she think of herself and an unkind word rarely if ever passed her lips.  Her “Servant-heart” guided her daily living.

No matter the time or the season, she could be found taking care of children, baking treats for her family, working with the fruits of the earth, cooking meals for others, making baby quilts for those in need, getting someone else to a place they needed to be, or visiting with friends about her faith and her family.

Her life was an example of the gospel passage, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”  Mark 9:35.

Sharon is survived by her children, Jay (Janelle) Richards of Moorhead,  Michelle (Tom) Geraghty of Moorhead,  Mark (Angie) Richards of Georgetown,  Greg (Patti) Richards of Moorhead,  Fr. Joe Richards of Park Rapids, MN,  Mike (Nancy) Richards of Fargo, and  Bruce (Pam) Richards of Victoria, MN; as well as 26 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; in-laws Patricia Leonard of Mound, MN, Betty Richards of Dilworth, MN, Allan & Gladys Richards of Hastings, MN,  Larry & Kathy Richards of Georgetown, MN,  and many nieces and nephews.

Sharon was preceded in death by her husband, Don Richards; father John Roscoe “Ross” Leonard; mother Elizabeth Leonard; stepmother Katie Leonard; brothers Bob Leonard, Don Leonard, and Harold “Chuck” Leonard, and daughter-in-law Lavonne Richards.

A Vigil Service will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Friday, October 13, 2023 from 6-7 P.M. with a prayer service at 7:00 P.M.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Moorhead on Saturday, October 14, 2023  at 11:00 A.M. followed by The Rite of Committal and burial at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in north Moorhead.