Jimmie Evelyn Richardson

Jimmie Evelyn Richardson was born on August 19, 1933, to Mattie and Tom Ridgley and accepted her invitation to heaven on March 11, 2023.

She married Carl P. Richardson in 1949 and they had three children, Suzie, Eddie and Vickie, before she was 20 years old. In 1954, while their children were very young, they moved to California for other opportunities and to be near Evelyn’s family members who lived on the West Coast. Evelyn worked as a sales clerk at a local five and dime store named Livermore Variety while also raising her children. The family moved back to Little Rock in 1962.

Evelyn worked at BEI Motion Systems for almost 40 years, serving as an inspector and supervisor of quality control. She earned a high security clearance and built or supervised the building of parts for the Hubble Space Telescope, the Patriot Anti-Missile System and other NASA and government projects. Her favorite place was her home. For a woman who liked to stay close to home, she helped to create technology that travelled far, all the way into space.

She enjoyed many hobbies, including sewing, selling Avon, cake decorating, flower gardening, making jewelry and working on her computer. She was stubborn and fiercely independent, even more so after being widowed in 1992. She shared her love and talents with her family. In only one of many instances, she taught her daughter, Suzie, to sew, discovering a lifelong passion that profoundly changed her life. She had many pets, including a German Shepherd named Hobo, American Eskimos named Beauty and Duke and a Sheltie named Honey.

She celebrated the holidays in big and fun ways with family and opened her home to many special occasions and to family members in need. She always cared deeply about the safety and happiness of her children and grandchildren. She loved her family unconditionally and followed a ‘live and let live’ philosophy, but she could sure put up a fight if you crossed her.

She is survived by her siblings Johnny Ridgley and Thresa Fransham, her children, Suzie Ridgley, Eddie Richardson (Jo), Vickie Minick (Gary), her grandchildren, Tony Posey (Libby), Matt Posey (Susan), Gina Welch (Jason), Melissa Hendricks (Dan), Melody Sugg (Derrick), Paul Minick (Donna) and Carl Minick. She is survived by 16 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren.

She is predeceased by her husband, Carl, and her siblings Donnie Ridgley, Opal Huckaba (Red) and Marie Granados (Earnie).

Visitation will be Thursday, March 16, from 5:00- 8:00 p.m. and the service will be Friday, March 17, at 1:00 p.m., both at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main St.