Clara Weaver Richardson

Mrs. Clara Beatrice Weaver Richardson died Monday, October 24, 2005 after a brief illness. She was the youngest of three daughters of P.K. Weaver and Joe Berta Bryan Weaver, of Kissimmee, Florida. Born June 6, 1924, in Jacksonville, Florida, Bea graduated from Osceola High School in Kissimmee, Florida and from Florida State University for Women in Tallahassee where she received a degree in social work. After college she completed a master?s degree in city planning from the University of Alabama and worked for a time for the city of Birmingham. Beatrice then moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she met her husband, Randolph A. Richardson to whom she was married for forty-eight years. Bea and Randolph were founding members of Clairmont Hills Baptist Church where they devoted many years of service. Bea was a gifted Sunday school teacher and led many Bible studies and prayer groups. Singing was a special joy and she often shared her lovely voice as a soloist with such songs as ?There is a Ba1m in Gilead" and "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need? Her prodigious intellect and unfailing desire for knowledge and understanding accompanied her on a journey of faith which enriched the lives of all who knew her. She eventually left the Southern Baptist denomination because of deep differences with its national 1endership and sought out a more progressive church family. Bea was one of the last victim?s of the po1io epidemic contracting the disease in 1952. After being quarantined at Grady Hospital in Atlanta she went to Warm Springs, Georgia where therapists taught her how to walk, cook, drive, and manage other tasks of daily living. Though the disease left her partially paralyzed and able to walk only with the aid of crutches and a 1eg brace, she was a person of great dignity and presence. She had a natural athleticism and gracefulness which polio could not diminish. Bea was a teacher and an avid reader. She never read novels, but much preferred biographies, theology and other books that helped her reflect on the meaning of life. She will be remembered for her courage in the face of great physical pain, her never-flagging faith, her laughter, her mental energy and social consciousness, her true patriotism and love of country and the democratic principles on which it was founded. She was a person who sincerely sought to know God and live a genuinely spiritual life. Bea is survived by her beloved sisters and brother-in law, Mary Ruth and Roger Crook of Raleigh, NC, and Joan Walker of Orlando, FL; her daughters, Rachel R. Smith of Raleigh and Sa11y R. Bai1ie of Loganville, Georgia; sons-in-law, Steve Smith and David Bailie; grandchildren Jason, Shelley, Eleanor, and Tricia Smith of Raleigh and Ben, Gabe, Lauren, and Johanna Bailie of Loganville. Bea is also survived by many nieces and nephews who live in Raleigh, Cary, Orlando and Atlanta. The memorial service will be held 1:00 p.m. Saturday, October 29th at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. The family asks that in lieu of flowers you make a contribution to the Gwinnett County Fel1owship of Christian Athletes, PO Box 201, Grayson, GA 30017.  A. S. Turner & Sons