Rita Richardson taught her children the lessons of life, gave them a blueprint and sent them on their way, says son Rick Richardson, now the general manager of the Bermuda Broadcasting Company.

“First I give thanks to God almighty daily for giving us another day with Mom,” he says.

“When my siblings and I need examples of perseverance, patience, honesty, fortitude and resilience, we simply look to our mother. She taught us the lessons of life, gave us the blueprint and sent us on our way.”

Mr. Richardson says his mother, whose maiden name was Ray, knew the meaning of hard work.

“She had little tolerance for those who didn't follow suit,” he says. “Mom lived by a set of golden rules, and famous Bermuda sayings, handed down by aunts and uncles. Most often she quoted an aunt I never knew. Mom made a big deal about speech and the need to be heard. ‘Don't talk under your breath, speak up' she would say.” Mrs. Richardson worked in the hotel industry and worked part-time on the printing press.

“She had everyone on a tight schedule,” he says, “She was raising three boys and one girl as a single parent. Discipline was the order of the day and at the daily family meeting she would state emphatically. ‘I'm only going to say this once'. Tough love was the norm.”

He said she always wanted us back in “our yard” before dark, as she needed to lay out the plan before she went back to the hotel that night. “If you did not make it back she told you right up front ‘licks would be trumps' and she promptly told us that ‘the licks she put on us would hurt her more than it hurt us'. She warned us not to get into trouble...”