Thelma Iris Richardson

Thelma Iris Dunlap Richardson, or Tee as she was known to all her family, was born February 23, 1920 to Ira and Cora Blendon Dunlap on the family cattle ranch in the Carrizo canyons southwest of Pritchett, Colorado. She was the youngest of a large family – brothers Walt, Lee and Ray, and sisters Gertrude, Callie, Irma, Hazel, Lida Mae and Millie. Life on the ranch was busy as they had horses, mules, cattle, chickens, turkeys, pigs, cats, dogs, etc., and they grew big gardens and had fruit trees. Mr. Dunlap went to town on occasion to buy supplies, but the family grew or raised most everything they needed. The children attended one-room schools in the Carrizo canyons, with all of the daughters later going to high school and teacher’s college in nearby larger towns. Thelma taught school for two years – one year in Pritchett and one year in Carrizo canyon. Getting electricity, indoor plumbing and a telephone were major events for the Dunlaps. There were many adventures growing up on the remote cattle ranch what with rattlesnakes, floods, blizzards, and mischievous brothers. On one occasion after a big rain, the creek on the ranch was flowing big, deep, and muddy, and the Dunlaps crossed it in a wagon pulled by mules to swim across to the other side. Thelma fell out, luckily on the upstream side and the others were able to pull her back into the wagon. As her sisters grew up, married, and left the home ranch one by one, Thelma was eventually the only daughter remaining to care for her elderly mother and single brother. Thelma became an excellent cook and worked hard caring for the ranch house and its big pretty yard, plus the chickens, turkeys and going to town as needed. Almost every weekend her nieces and nephews and various family and friends came “down to the ranch” to visit and stay and Thelma was an excellent hostess. She cooked innumerable big ranch meals for groups of cowboys, cattle buyers, brand inspectors, friends, and family who loved the fun and good food around the big round oak dining table. Not to mention her only stove was a big, old, wood-fired Home Comfort range. Her nieces and nephews remember with great fondness the fragrance of the fresh-cut pinion pine trees she decorated each Christmas, wild turkey and mince-meat pie at Thanksgiving, driving five miles up the canyon to get the mail and visit neighbors, and we rode Old Brownie the horse with Aunt Tee to hunt for arrowheads or hidden turkey nests by the creek. She made us “pudding in the skillet,” let us ice graham crackers for lunch, and we all remember her wonderful snicker-doodle cookies. She played games with us such as “letter fly” and “meet the king and queen.” Every Sunday she drove her mother to the little Furnish Canyon Church of Christ. After her mother, Cora died, Thelma married the love of her life, Billy Richardson, in 1965 and they moved several miles east to their own ranch. There Thelma continued her care of a home and beautiful big yard with garden and various animals. After Billy died, Thelma continued living on their ranch by herself for many years. She moved to the long-term-care center in Springfield in 2009 where she resided until her passing. She was an amazing, spunky pioneer woman and will be dearly remembered and greatly missed by her family and friends. She was a faithful attendee of Furnish Canyon Church of Christ. She is survived by brother-in-law James Nidey, sister-in-law Marge Dunlap, loving caregiver Niece Michala Wait and several other nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her Parents Ira and Cora Dunlap, her Husband Billy Richardson, 3 Brothers, Walter, Ray, and Lee, 6 Sisters Gertrude, Irma, Callie, Hazel, Lida Mae, and Millie. Graveside funeral service for Thelma Richardson will be held Saturday January 17th 2015, 2:00 PM at the Kenton Oklahoma Cemetery in Kenton, OK. In Lieu of flowers please make a donation in Thelma’s memory to the SECH Long Term Care Center 373 East 10th Ave. Springfield, CO 81073