Rev. Avis June (Foley) Richardson

Rev. Avis June Richardson, 93, of Staunton, IL, exchanged her earthly home for an eternal home on April 4, 2025.

She was born June 20, 1931 in Burlington, CO, the third child of the late Elvis Guy & Sarah Margaret (Yale) Foley.  She was raised in the home of her grandparents, William & Nellie Yale.  At age 4, during the days of the "Dust Bowl", her family moved to Missouri & settled in the southwest corner of the state near Neosho, where she spent the next 14 years of her life.

When she was 17, she met & married David Walter Richardson on May 19, 1949.  To this union three children were born:  Angela Jane (Charles) Pfeifer,  John William (Barbara) Richardson,  &  Alisa Jean (Bill) Hoffman.

In 1968, Avis entered the ministry of the United Methodist Church (UMC) & in 1971 she received her ordination into the ministry of UMC.  Upon finishing her theological studies at Northwestern University in 1977, she received Associate Membership with the Southern Illinois Conference in 1978.

During her ministry, she received appointments to 9 charges (13 churches) - Beckemeyer, Hamburg, Batchtown, Bellview, St. Jacob, Waltonville, Shiloh (Mt. Vernon area), Patoka, Vernon, Staunton, Dorchester, Wood River Evangelical, & Wanda, IL.  After retiring in 1998 (for 18 months), she served as Interim Pastor for St. Paul United Church of Christ in Staunton, IL for 2 years; then returned to serve for 5 more years at First United Methodist Church in Staunton, IL.

She was a member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary of Staunton.  She also served on the Conference Committee for Voices of Children, & the Board of the UM Village in Lawrenceville, IL.  In 1984, with donations from the American Red Cross, she began the Staunton Food Pantry, which was housed in the UMC for 15 years.  For over 50 years, she wrote her "To You...With Love" column for local newspapers, writing for the Staunton Star-Times for over 36 years.

She is survived by one daughter -  Alisa (Bill) Hoffman of Staunton, IL;  seven grandchildren -  Aimee June (Casey) Baker of Cabot, AR,  Crystal Dawn (Pete) Hoffman of Staunton, IL,  Robert Allen (Krista) Hoffman of Staunton, IL,  Michelle Diane (Shawn) Way of Taylor, MS,  William Craig (Lou) Pfeifer of Fredrich, CO,  Melissa Ann (Kevin) Piening of Bethalto, IL,  &  Terri Lynn (Mikey) Hoffman of Gillespie, IL;  fourteen great grandchildren -  Amanda (Chris),  Christian,  Amber (Adam),  Samantha,  Holly,  Alexis (Blake),  Mali (Matt),  Layla,  Grayson,  Leah,  Anna,  Orion,  Liam,  &  Maya;  eight great great grandchildren -  Michelle,  Dakota,  Joseph,  Oliver,  Ariana,  Ivy,  Blayklee,  &  Carter;  &  one sister-in-law -  Mary (Richardson) Foley.

Besides her husband & parents, she was preceded in death by her daughter -  Angela;  her son -  John;  her great granddaughter -  Bethany;  her sister -  Melva Foley;  her brother -  William Foley;  three brothers-in-law -  Howard Van Buren,  Ivan Ping,  &  John Richardson;  three sisters-in-law -  Marsha (Mason) Richardson,  Nancy (Richardson) Ping,  &  Alice Van Buren;  two nieces -  Nancy Lee Ping  &  Ruth Van Buren;  &  one nephew -  Jack Richardson.

Visitation will be held from 10 AM to 12 noon on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at First United Methodist Church in Staunton, IL.  Funeral services will be held at 12 noon on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at First United Methodist Church in Staunton, IL, with Pastor Nancy Hubert officiating.  Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery in Staunton, IL.

Memorials are suggested to either First United Methodist Church of Staunton, IL or to the family.

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