CYNTHIA RICHARDS obituary

Cynthia Lynn Richards, 43, died at her home in Woods Bay, out of Bigfork this past weekend.

Her funeral service was held on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 21, at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish, followed by a coffee hour. A private family burial followed at Woodlawn Cemetery in Columbia Falls on Friday. She was born to James M. and Audrey D. Richards on June 8, 1963, at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. She grew up in Havre and attended school there. She graduated from Havre High School with the class of 1982. During her teenage years, while still attending high school, she worked at the Havre Clinic, pulling charts and filing for incoming patients. After graduation, she continued in this line of work and was employed by the Havre Clinic. In 1988, she moved to the Flathead Valley and began work for the Flathead Valley Orthopedic Center in Kalispell. She had a smile on her face for all co-workers and patients and was especially fond of the elderly. Upon entering the office, she would say, “Hey, Hey, Hey It's A Great Day.” That phrase was a reflection of her most professional work ethic all her life. She gave her very best to any and all she met. It was in Kalispell that she had and raised her only child, Hannah Jo Sherrill, now age 17 and a senior at Flathead County High School. She recently opened her own private cleaning service, which she managed out of her home in Bigfork. Her interests included hiking, camping, jigsaw puzzles, snowmobiling and her cats, Carla and Speckles and helping and caring for those less fortunate. She had a great love of family and nothing was too much or too tough for her to tackle if it would benefit another person. She was a witness for Jesus and often said “It's a God thing.” She saw and recognized small miracles that others people did not think of. Survivors include her beloved daughter, Hannah Jo, who was her “Little Barbie Doll,” the pets, and of course he immediate family: James M. and Audrey D. Richards of Happy Valley in Whitefish; sisters, Alison Richards of Whitefish and Rebecca Richards Lee of Havre; and brother, James Bradley Richards of Whitefish. Memorials can be made to Christ Lutheran Church building fund in Whitefish, or the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101, to be used for cancer research for children. Columbia Mortuary in Columbia Falls is in charge of the arrangements.