Lonnie Richardson Celebrates 100th

Having just celebrated his 100th birthday, Lonnie Richardson continues to amaze folks with his good health and steadfast ways. Not only did he have three celebrations over the weekend, but he attended the visitation for a friend’s funeral Saturday and took in a musical on the courtsquare Saturday evening.

He still lives on his own for the most part, but will spend evenings with family members and return home after the news and weather.

Lonnie still checks cows daily using a four-wheeler, this despite a mishap a couple years ago that gave his family a terrible scare. Family members tell that Lonnie had put a 100-pound feed sack on the ATV and successfully made a creek crossing and put out the feed for cattle. On the way back, however, the ATV was not as stable as it had been when 100 pounds heavier, and the water flipped it. Lonnie walked about two miles home where he received a lecture from daughter Patsy about how he shouldn’t be out on the four-wheeler and checking cattle by himself, etc. The lecture had hardly concluded when Lonnie turned to son and grandsons and gave directives as to how the oil should be changed in that four-wheeler because he’d need it to carry range cubes the next day.

Grandson Jamie Goins says Lonnie comments every year that he needs to get out of the cattle business, but he always keeps one or two cows of his own in the herd of about 40.

He checks on his family members just as closely as he does the cattle. Jamie says that in wintery weather, Lonnie calls and checks on everyone to make sure they made it home safely.

This past week he helped great grandchildren get cattle ready for showing in the county fair, and he would have attended the Friday night show were it not for a special singing in his honor at Signal Hill. There was another celebration Saturday afternoon in Mountain View, and one Sunday evening at Arbanna. Members of Arbanna Baptist Church presented Lonnie with a gold-plated Henry .22 mag rifle with an octagon barrel, a gift that left him speechless. There will be a plaque to go along with it noting his name and birth date: September 12, 1917.

See the full story in the Sept. 20, 2017 issue.