Eva England Richards, 89, born May 25, 1920 near Anniston, died Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 peacefully at her home.
She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother.
After graduating from Alexandria High School, she lived in Birmingham, for nearly 50 years where she was a long time member of Mountain Brook Baptist Church.
She was employed by Burger-Phillips, Loveman’s and Parisian’s department stores in Birmingham where she worked in sales and interior home decorating. She also worked for Valley Drapery and Rug and Birmingham Wholesale Furniture in interior design.
While raising three children she was selected to be one of two of the first police women in Jefferson County and was assigned to the Mountain Brook Police Department in 1955.
She served as a Cub Scout Den Mother, Sunday school teacher, and other volunteer positions to make a difference in the lives of other children as well as her own.
She retired to Gulf Shores in 1991 where she worked part-time at Winn-Dixie and Family Dollar. “Miss Eva” was loved by all who knew her throughout the Gulf Shores community.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 39 years, Allen Louis Richards, mother Mary Lou Bagley England, father Walter Samford England, sisters Opal Brye, Hazel Anderson, Earnestine Gardner and brothers Byron and Eugene England.
Survivors include a son Ronald F. (Innes) Richards of Navarre, Fla.; two daughters, Wanda R. Brown of Tucker, Ga., and Pamela R. (Rick) Vines of Gulf Shores; a grandson Jackson “Jay” Brown of Tucker, Ga.; granddaughter, Valerie Brown (Chris) Mazzotti of Charlotte, N.C.; sister Orliss Smallwood of Anniston; many more relatives and friends.
The family would like to give a special thanks to the nurses at Covenant Hospice’s Daphne office for their exceptional care of our Mother and their wonderful support of her family and friends.
The family requests memorial donations be made to Covenant Hospice, 5041 N. 12th Ave., Pensacola, FL 32504, or through their website at www.covenanthospice.org. Please identify your donation “For the Benefit of the Daphne office.”
A memorial service will be held at a later date in Birmingham. Private family burial will be held at Forest Crest Cemetery in Birmingham.
