Jannet (Elliott) Richards

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.  Psalm 121:1

Over the past year the Lord has been preparing a heavenly home for Mother Jannet Richards. On Saturday, July 23, 2022 God saw fit to call her home.

Mother Jannet Richards was born on January 7, 1935 to Helen Williams and John Elliot in Richmond, Virginia, who both preceded her in death. She was reared in Alcolu, South Carolina by her Aunt Eliza Calvin and was educated in the Alcolu Public school system.

In 1956 Jannet migrated to New York to pursue a better education for herself. Jannet loved to cook and serve others. She’s infamous for her cakes, pies and macaroni and cheese. She retired from the New York Board of Education in 2001 as a dietician.

Jannet loved the Lord and loved to serve Him and the people of God. While living in the Bronx, New York, she was a member of Bethel A.M.E. Church located in Harlem, New York. In 1974, after moving to Queens with her family, they became members of the Bethlehem Church of Christ Disciples under the late Bishop Roosevelt Hinnant. Jannet served as a willing worker, a missionary and president of Usher Board #1, and served for many years. Following that time, she attended Friendship Baptist Church of Jamaica in Jamaica, New York under Bishop Hudson, serving on the Mothers and Deaconess Boards before migrating back to the South in 2015. This time she relocated to Allenhurst, Georgia with her daughter who would later become one of her major caregivers.  . On May 18, 2016 she joined Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Hinesville, Georgia under Bishop M.L. Jackson, serving on the Golden Age Ministry.

On January 31, 1959 Jannet married her devoted husband of 51 years, Army Sgt. Samuel Arnold Richards. They were inseparable and the two of them celebrated and enjoyed life together. Unfortunately, on Friday, December 3, 2010 Samuel was called home to be with the Lord. The union of Jannet and Samuel was blessed with five children. Dorothy Singleton and Arnold Dexter Richards preceded Jannet in death. One grand also preceded her in death.

To cherish her beautiful memory, she leaves two daughters: Jeannea Anderson of Richmond, VA and Bridgette Michelle Richards of Allenhurst, GA; son, William Joseph Richards of Charlotte, NC; 8 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren whom she loved dearly; brother and sister-in-law, Rev. Joseph Washington and Rev. Ossie Washington of Holly Hill, SC; sister, Lorraine Washington of Richmond, VA; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends who loved her very much; special cousins, Harmon Evans, Rosa Martin, Betty Heyward and Mabel Holmes; special son, Maurice Joseph; and special friends, Cleveland Dixon and Pherbie Banger.

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