Wilhelmina Johanna Richardson (née Jooste) April 4, 1930 – September 29, 2025

Wilhelmina Johanna Richardson, known to all who loved her as Val, passed away peacefully on

September 29, 2025, at the age of 95. Born in Springs, South Africa, Val was a woman of

resolve, strength, independence, and remarkable talent who lived life on her own terms.

The eldest of five siblings, Val grew up in South Africa during a time when few women pursued

careers with the dedication and success she achieved. Working her way through various

administrative positions, she ultimately served as Company Secretary for an international

company in Johannesburg before her retirement—a testament to her professionalism, capability,

work ethic and commitment to give her personal best to all that she did. At a time when it was

far from common, Val embraced her role as a career woman and treasured the independence it

afforded her.

Val possessed extraordinary creative gifts and approached every craft she undertook with a

determination to achieve perfection and mastery. A talented seamstress, knitter, and artist, she

excelled at crochet, tapestry painting, cross stitch, and ribbon embroidery. She was exceptional at

sewing clothing for all occasions, and for her friends and family, including many wedding

dresses. She crafted many quilts, each one unique and lovingly designed with its recipient in

mind. Val took exceptional joy in donating her hand-crocheted blankets and quilts to families

staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Gainesville, Florida, offering comfort through her

artistry to those in need.

Raised in the Dutch Reformed Church and married in 1951 to Donald Richardson, in the

Anglican Church, Val found her spiritual home in the Baptist faith after emigrating to the United

States to be near her children and grandchildren. While she cherished her country of birth and the

Afrikaans culture in which she was raised, she embraced the opportunity to live in and eventually

become a citizen of the United States, building a new life with characteristic courage and

resolve.

Val was preceded in death by her brother Paul and her sisters Marie and Letitia. She is survived

by her sister Yvonne Davies; her son Donald and daughter-in-law Wendy Richardson; her

daughter Ingrid and son-in-law Clive Wasserfall; and her beloved grandsons, Dean and Ethan

Wasserfall.

Val has found her wings and passed into her eternal place of rest and peace. Her legacy lives on

in the lives she touched, the beauty she created, and the example she set—of a woman whose

strength was forged through a life that was not always easy, who met every challenge with

stubborn determination and an unwavering spirit