Barbara Lee Richey

Barbara Lee Richey, age 94, of Fenton, Michigan passed away peacefully at her home, Provision Living of Fenton, surrounded by loved ones on Friday, August 23, 2024. Barbara was born May 5, 1930 in Detroit, Michigan to Ellow and Jewell Guined. She grew up in Royal Oak and graduated from Royal Oak Dondero High School in 1948. Through a blind date, she met Donald J. Richey of Crab Orchard, Illinois when he was stationed in Selfridge Air Force Base. They married in Royal Oak in 1952. One of her early jobs was being switchboard operator at an auto dealership in Royal Oak. Together they had three daughters who they raised in Royal Oak. Barbara went back to work when their youngest daughter was able to eat lunch at her elementary school. Barbara worked as an administrative secretary for Royal Oak Schools until she retired in 1984. Don worked for Vickers in Troy until he retired. After retirement, they moved to the Spring Hill area of Florida and over time built three beautiful homes on three different golf courses. They loved to golf and enjoyed their time in the Sunshine State. When Don became ill, they moved back to the Crab Orchard area of Illinois until Don passed away on Oct. 1, 2004 at the age of 75. At that time, Barbara moved back to Fenton to be closer to her daughters. While living in Fenton, Barbara made many friends in her Landings Way neighborhood and she was active on the social committee. She volunteered as an election inspector for Fenton Township, a job she cherished. She also volunteered weekly for many years in the gift shop at Ascension Genesys Hospital. She always found heartfelt gifts at the gift shop for her family members and friends. She loved cookbooks and enjoyed trying new recipes on her family. Barbara was a good listener and her friends could always talk about their problems with her. She never judged anyone. She helped immensely in providing prizes for golfers who attended the memorial golf outings for her grandson Brad, who passed away in 2000. She took that role very seriously and provided the best prizes. Her last big vacation was a trip to see her grandson Jake at the golf resort he was working at in Doral, Florida. That trip brought back so many wonderful golfing memories she had with her husband. When Barbara’s health began to fail, she moved to Provision Living of Fenton as one of its first residents. She thrived there and was treated very well by all of the staff and the Medical Team Hospice. She stayed very social never missing a cooking demonstration, visiting singers or cocktail hour. Barbara is survived by her three daughters: Janis Kyle of Dallas, TX, Nancy Richey (Brian Cooper) of New Port Richey, FL and Sharon (Jeff) Stone of Fenton Township, MI. She’s also survived by her grandchildren Kim (Jeremy) Lovell of New Port Richey, FL, Christen (Wells) Deschler of Dallas TX, Jacqueline (Greg) Pawlowski of Fort Worth, TX, Michael (Katie) Suter of St. Petersburg, FL, Jillian Rae (Takeshi) Harada of Hamamatsu, Japan, Matthew Suter of Clearwater, FL, Laura (Edward) Constable of Fenton Township, MI and Jake Stone of Fenton Township, MI; and great grandchildren Asa, Lydia, Nicholas, Jacob, Leo, Eli, Ivy and Shoichiro. She was preceded in death by her husband Don, her parents, her grandson Bradley Stone, her sister Juanita Kline and brother Gordon Guined. Per Barbara’s wishes, cremation has taken place and her remains will be buried with her husband in Crab Orchard/Marion, Illinois. A private family memorial will be held at a future date. Arrangements are being handled by Sharp Funeral Homes, Fenton Chapel, 1000 Silver Lake Rd., Fenton. Tributes may be shared at www.sharpfuneralhomes.com.