Mae Sue (Sanders) Richards

Mae Sue Richards, resident of Fisherville, Tennessee and formerly of Foxtrap, Mississippi, passed away suddenly on December 31, 2017 at Methodist LeBonheur Germantown Hospital age the age of 81.

Services of Remembrance for Mrs. Richards will be conducted at 11:30 A.M. Saturday, January 6, 2018 at First Baptist Church Fisherville. Interment will follow at the Fisherville Cemetery. A visitation will be from 10 to 11:30 A.M. Saturday, January 6, 2018 at the church. Arrangements will be provided by Peebles Fayette County Funeral Homes & Cremation Center – Main Chapel of Somerville.

Born in 1936 in Macon, Mississippi, Sue was the daughter of Gilbert and Janie Sanders of Foxtrap, Mississippi. Sue moved to Memphis in 1959 following her marriage to Rod Richards of Mashulaville, Mississippi in 1957. In Memphis, Sue worked in varying educational capacities, culminating in a position as the school secretary for Ridgeway Elementary School in Memphis. Sue loved the children, the teachers, the administrators and families she faithfully served for sixteen years. Sue also supported Rod’s work as a senior administrator in the Memphis City School System, where their warm and happy home was often a gathering place for members of the Driver Education Program. During this time, Sue battled multiple bouts of cancer and she never gave up. Sue persevered and always had an optimistic and encouraging word for those she encountered.

She was faithfully married to Rod for 50 years before his passing. She is survived by her two children and their spouses, Karen and Gary Miller of Eads, Tennessee and Mike and Jill Richards of Chesapeake, Virginia; three siblings, Sara “Baby Sister” Daniels of Cleveland, Mississippi, Gilbert “Buster” Sanders of Columbus, Mississippi, Amelia “Jane” Austin of Monroe, Louisiana; five grandchildren, Cade and Cole Miller of Eads, Tennessee, Connor and Kara Richards of Chesapeake, Virginia, Katlin Martin and her spouse, Drew, of Norfolk, Virginia; and two great-grandsons, Jaxson and Haddon Martin of Norfolk, Virginia.

Sue’s selfless love and positive encouragement propelled her grandchildren forward in all their endeavors. She enjoyed writing and telling stories of times when life was slower and a lot simpler. The stories reminded all who heard or read them that we often need to slow down to understand what’s important in life. Sue loved her house on Mocking Bird Hill that she and Rod built with their own hands. Sue’s cheerful, but quiet home, was a peaceful refuge for many. She loved to work in her flowerbeds, watch the deer from her kitchen window as they drank from the lake and drink her coffee outside on a warm spring morning.

Those honored to serve as pallbearers will be Gary Miller, Cade Miller, Cole Miller, Connor Richards, Mike Richards and Gilbert Sanders.

The family requests that memorials be directed to First Baptist Church Fisherville, 11893 Macon Road, Eads, Tennessee 38028.