Norman Leo Richardson, eighty-six, of Ryan, Oklahoma, passed from this life Tuesday, August 26, 2003, in the Ryan Nursing Home. He was born June 23, 1917, in Montague, Texas, to Willie and Ethel Richardson. He and Opal Whatley were united in marriage on November 5, 1938, in Ringling, Oklahoma. Mr. Richardson was a member of the First Baptist Church in Ryan and a member of the Ryan Senior Citizens group. He was a founding member of the Ryan Rodeo Association and a member of the American Legion. He coached summer league softball for fourteen years for forty-three years. He retired from the Ryan Fire Department after twenty years and thirteen years as Fire Chief. He served as Ryan City Councilman for three terms.

Survivors include: his wife, Opal Richardson of the home in Ryan, OK; one son - Dale Richardson and his wife Rose of Ringling, OK; three daughters - Jean Spikes and her husband Jim of Wichita Falls, TX, Carolyn Martin of Lubbock, TX, and Donna Brown and her husband Greg of Waurika, OK; two sisters - Joyce Thomas of Ringling, OK, and Myrle Tripp of Ringling, OK; a sister-in-law, Billie Richardson, of Duncan, OK; fourteen grandchildren; and twenty great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Willie and Ethel Richardson, two grandsons, Allen and David Morgan, two sisters, Dorothy and Lois, and two brothers, Buryl and Earl.

Funeral services for Mr. Richardson were at 10:00 AM, Thursday, August 28, 2003, at the Ryan First Baptist Church with Clarence Mize officiating. Burial was in the Ryan Cemetery under the direction of Dudley Funeral Home of Ryan.

Memorial contributions may be made to Heartland Hospice of Duncan or the Ryan Fire Department.