Rosemond Richardson

(From Clark Funeral Home)

Rosemond Albert Richardson Sr. peacefully closed his circle of life on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 in Neosho, Missouri. He was 91 years old.

Rosemond was born on 8 December 1931, on the French Caribbean island of St. Martin in the small hamlet of Rambaud to parents Marie Thérèse Baly and Albert Valentin Hippolyte Richardson. 

In true island tradition, he was graced with several petits noms or nicknames. His first was Toussine; and as the story goes, he was behind each footstep of his mother following her everywhere, just like her cat of the same name. 

The second was his father’s first name Albert (pronounced al-bear) this was preferred by his French relatives and his American family and friends called him Al. The third was Richie, a diminutive of Richardson. That moniker was bestowed upon him by his co-workers at Chrysler Corporation where he worked until his retirement. 

Lastly, Dangerman, the name he received from his children, was earned as a result of getting into all types of tight spots and unusual situations with near disastrous results - like one morning using his new jigsaw on the dining room table to cut a small piece of wood and accidently slicing up the Christmas tablecloth. He cultivated that streak while young on his native island. 

He had a reputation for riding and racing horses, driving fast cars and even sailing on a small boat as a teenager to journey from St. Martin to Aruba. Rosemond “Dangerman” Richardson was the ultimate stuntman who survived multiple car accidents, two knee replacements, battled and defeated prostate cancer, colon cancer and multiple myeloma.

In his late 20’s, he moved to Staten Island, New York and was immediately conscripted into the United States Army where he served at Fort Gordon, Georgia as a Private First Class as a Ten-Wheel Vehicle Mechanic. Upon his arrival, in the 1956 segregated South, he posed quite a dilemma for the base which thought they were getting a French man who looked like a European. After completing his service in November 1958, he began his lifelong career with the company that made the only brand of car he would ever drive - Chrysler.

During his tenure at Chrysler Manhattan Service Center in New York City, Rosemond eventually climbed the ranks from mechanic to service and technical director.

After his retirement, Rosemond devoted his free time to his next passion - researching his family tree and assisting relatives with documenting theirs. He had the unique ability to look at your face, inquire about your last name and describe how far and wide your genealogical roots spread. He was a living archive and when he returned to St. Martin on vacations, it seemed that he could connect everyone he met as a distant relative. His two children, Marie Thérèse and Rosemond Jr., affectionately known as Butch, always joked that he had to leave the island in order to find a wife that was not related to him.

Rosemond met his late wife Lela Ann Wills at a dance hosted by the St. Martin Club in New York City. Their two children remember his fantastical version of how their meeting was love at second sight: “I was driving to work and stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to turn green. All of a sudden a woman jumped on the hood of my car while the light was still red. I look at the face and it is your mother. She made me drive her to work which ended up making me late for my job.”

It was no wonder he scooped up his future wife early that morning - she was not from St. Martin and no chance of her being a relative. Lela’s roots were dug deep in the mud of Mississippi.

Rosemond was active in his community and a member of The Mary Louis Academy Fathers’ Club from 1976-1980, a Fourth Degree Sir Knight in Our Lady of Guadalupe Province First District of Texas Knights of Columbus, a member of the Tree Family in New York.

He spoke four languages - French, English, Spanish and Papiamentu; enjoyed cooking signature dishes from his native island, such as souse, red snapper, johnny cake and bacalao.

In addition to his two children, Rosemond is remembered by his grandson Agis César Carty, his sister-in-law Georgia Smith-Jeffries, and brother-in-law Keith Jeffries.

Rosemond Albert Richardson Sr. was related to the following families: Baly, Helligar, Gumbs, Carney, Von Romondt, Illidge, Muller, Sardine, Viotty, Arrendell, Rollan, Questel, Arnell, Medore, Christian, Laurence, Maurras, Lake, Kit, Phyfer, Richards, and Lewest.