January 1, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 5A
Wendy was the bright star in many hearts
IMPRESSIONS
NANCY McCARTHY
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time I met Wendy Richard-
son it was to talk to her about
a community event that she was
organizing.
I was a freelance writer in
2008, assigned to write a sto-
ry for the Coast River Business
Journal about “Where the Stars
Play,” a concert series held in
the summer at Quatat Park in
Seaside. Wendy had organized it
for several years on behalf of the
Sunset Empire Park and Recre-
ation District. It was designed to
draw people downtown and into
local businesses.
Wendy generously gave her
time to share with me her en-
thusiasm for the event, which,
she felt, bene¿ ted the commu-
nity and gave mostly unknown
bands some recognition and
a little pocket money. We met
in her small of¿ ce ne[t to Sea-
side Health Foods on Roosevelt
Drive. She worked there as the
sales representative for The Dai-
ly Astorian.
Little did we know that about
three months later, I would start
working in that same of¿ ce
as the South County reporter
for The Daily Astorian and we
would become fast and close
friends.
I
W
ENDY ’ S GENEROSITY , LOVE
for her community and desire
to help others — even when it
meant impinging on her own
time or resources — are the qual-
ities all of her friends are writing
about this week on her Facebook
page in her memory. Wendy died
of a massive stroke Monday.
“Your friendship, generosity,
kindness and wicked sense of hu-
mor have kept me aÀ oat through
sad times. You always knew the
right thing to say, or when a hug
was just what I needed,” wrote
Gretchen Fulop Darnell. “I fear
Seaside will never be the same.”
“The many lives you have
touched, the many people who
have been healed by your words!
Thank you for your gift of love
throughout the community,”
wrote Linda Smith.
DAILY ASTORIAN FILE PHOTO
Th e Daily Astorian advertising team in 2014. From left , Brandy
Stewart, Wendy Richardson, Kimberly A. Flaigg, Laura Kaim,
Lisa Cadonau, Betty Smith and Holly Larkins.
“Thank you for all that you
taught me, helped me through
and shared with me! I am forev-
er grateful for your love and wis-
dom,” added Angela Fairless.
Every weekday morning for
nearly seven years, until I retired
last March, Wendy would come
into my of¿ ce for a quick chat.
It would be our way of starting
the day. We shared our personal
trials and triumphs in those con-
versations and usually ended up
laughing. She had many tribula-
tions that dogged her throughout
the time we worked together,
problems that I’m pretty sure
few people knew about because
her smile and vivacity masked
her stress.
In some ways, Wendy seemed
naive about people, but her faith
in them usually worked out. Like
the time a stranger came into our
of¿ ce with some hard luck story.
Wendy loaned the woman $25
— money she couldn’t spare at
the time. The woman promised
to pay her back, even though she
was on her way out of town. A
few months went by. But to my
great surprise, the woman repaid
the loan.
I always looked forward to our
talks. I can’t believe I don’t have
those to look forward to any-
more.”
“I just realized I still have the
jumper cables she loaned me in
my back seat,” former Seaside
reporter Louie Opatz wrote on
Facebook. “Wendy was always
so generous, gregarious and lov-
ing — and all those things so
selÀ essly. She never did — and
never would have — asked for
those jumper cables back.”
W ENDY WAS THE TRUE SPIRIT OF
Wendy Richardson’s last Face-
book post to her page Dec. 19:
“Beautiful rainbow over the
house this morning. Th anks
mom.”
she raised the kids to be thought-
ful, creative, caring, educated
adults. Two years ago, Wendy
celebrated three graduations in
the same month Ali[ and Andie
graduated from college and 1ick
graduated from Seaside High
School. 1ick is now attending
Lane Community College in Eu-
gene.
In this day, when there’s so
much talk about high school
dropouts and the high cost of a
college education, to have all
three children graduating in the
same month is quite a feat!
But her motherly instincts
didn’t end with her children.
Wendy was the of¿ ce “moth-
er,” too. When Seaside reporter
Katherine Lacaze needed furni-
ture for her baby, Wendy dug out
her leftover furniture from her
garage.
“You showed me how to sew
a button onto my jacket,” wrote
Erick Beng el, former Cannon
Beach reporter, on Wendy’s
Facebook page. “You shared
your home-cooked meals with
me. …You counseled and con-
soled me during some of my
darker days at the Gazette. And
W ENDY WAS ALWAYS SHELTER -
ING people under her wing, espe-
cially young people. Whenever
we went to lunch together, there
inevitably would be a person at
the restaurant — a waitress or
someone we would run into —
who had either lived temporari-
ly with Wendy’s family or who
had gone to school with one of
Wendy’s three children and who
Wendy had somewhat “adopt-
ed.”
Family was the dominant
theme that ran through Wendy’s
life. She dearly loved her hus-
band, Al, and her three children,
Ali[, Andie and 1ick. But what
impressed me so much was how
◊
the Seaside community, a tireless
volunteer for the high school, the
Seaside Chamber of Commerce
and other local organizations.
She would work full days at the
of¿ ce, then spend evenings and
weekends (and, during beach
volleyball tournaments, early
mornings) helping out in the
community.
She taught me the true mean-
ing of the phrase, “It takes a vil-
lage. …” She introduced me to
this village of South County, to
her friends and her family, and
she made me feel comfortable
here. There wasn’t a Thanksgiv-
ing or Christmas that went by
that she didn’t invite me to share
it with her and her family.
Maybe it is right, too, that we
honor Wendy at Christmas. She
and her mother ran the Christ-
mas shop, ’Tis the Season in
Cannon Beach for more than 20
years. Christmas was Wendy’s
favorite holiday.
She often talked about her
mother, who died several years
ago; Wendy missed her very
much.
In a ¿ nal Facebook post last
weekend, Wendy showed a pic-
ture she had taken of a rainbow
over the house that she and Al
had moved into a few months
ago. She adored the house and
its location near West Lake.
The rainbow seemed to sym-
bolize that all was well, ¿ nally,
in Wendy’s life, and, as always,
she wanted to share the happy
moment.
“Beautiful rainbow over the
house this morning,” Wendy
wrote. “Thanks, mom.”
Nancy McCarthy is the
retired Daily Astorian South
County reporter and former
editor of the Seaside Signal and
Cannon Beach Gazette.
Community pays
tribute to Wendy
Richardson
Longtime resident
remembered for
supporting family,
friends, colleagues and
community
By Katherine Lacaze
Seaside Signal
A full house was a testament to Wendy
Richardson’s impact as friends, family and
community members gathered for a Cele-
bration of Life ceremony in her honor Dec.
27.
The Paci¿ c
Room at the
Seaside Civic
and Conven-
tion Center
was packed
full of people
searching for
closure and
comfort while
remembering
Wendy, who
passed away
Dec. 21 at
the age of 56
SUBMITTED PHOTO/SEASIDE SIGNAL
after suffer-
ing a massive Wendy Richardson in 2008.
stroke
the
day before.
Wendy’s three brothers, Scott, Jeff
and Randy Shannon, shared stories
of growing up with their only sister.
“She was what I call ‘the princess,’” Randy
Shannon said. “She was the queen, and de-
servedly so.”
People always À ocked to Wendy, drawn
to her warm, infectious smile, her inviting
personality and her kind, understanding
heart, they said. It was not unusual for peers
in school to use friendships with the broth-
ers to have easier access to Wendy. Because
she was so approachable and sincere, she
had many friends, “and always will,” Randy
Shannon said.
“How Wendy made you feel after you
were with her was truly her trademark,” he
said.
In letters read aloud, Wendy’s children
— Ali[, 2; Andie, 2; and 1ick, 1 — de-
scribed her as their best friend, someone they
could depend on for support. She helped
them recognize and achieve their dreams.
Even after her passing, they wrote, they still
feel her presence and strength. Andie Rich-
ardson wrote she is glad they told each other
“I love you” as much as they could.
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