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When asked about her father, Rev. Richard Richardson, Kim Pruitt recalled, “He didn’t necessarily want to take a lot of credit for anything.”
Richardson, 95, passed away on Sept. 30, 2025.
“He just is doing what the Lord asked him to do,” she said. “He just had a servant’s heart. I think that would be the main thing that he would want to be remembered, that it’s not him, but the God in him.”
Legacy in Lakeland
Richardson made a lasting impact on the Lakeland community since moving from Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990. He and his wife, Jestina, were active members at New Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, where he provided financial guidance that allowed the church to expand its ministry. He served as Commissioner Emeritus to the Lakeland Housing Authority and as a chaplain with the Lakeland Police Department (LPD).
“The Reverend was a man of enormous achievement in both his pastoral services and his community involvement,” said former commissioner Don Selvage.
New Bethel AME Church
Richardson served on the ministerial staff and as financial administrator at New Bethel AME, according to Rev. Nathan Mugala, who joined the church in October 2023. “I saw in him a commitment to the church and a commitment to the body of Christ,” Mugala said. “It was amazing to me: in his 90s and he was still serving, still doing the work.”
Rev. Dr. Mugala said Richardson and Jestina were instrumental in starting the food pantry and led the married couples’ ministry at New Bethel AME. “He lived a great life. He has left a major legacy in the life of New Bethel and African Methodist Episcopal Church,” he said.
Sylvia Blackmon-Roberts, former member of the board of stewards at New Bethel AME, said that Richardson made a lasting impact on the church with his heart for service and business acumen. “Building up the financial infrastructure for us became a transformational moment for the church that allowed us to expand our programs, that allowed us to expand in our mission, that allowed us to serve the community,” Blackmon-Roberts said.
“Rev. Richardson was a small frame man,” she said. “He was very quiet, but yet he was very impactful. I always used to say, ‘He speaks with his impact.’”
Lakeland Housing Authority
“People like him, they come along just once in a lifetime,” said Ben Stevenson, executive director of the Lakeland Housing Authority (LHA). According to Stevenson, Richardson was an LHA board member for at least eight years before he was appointed commissioner emeritus.
After a forensic audit, Stevenson said that Richardson provided guidance as he and the LHA staff resolved issues related to finances, sustainability and relationships with the board. He said that Richardson actively attended board meetings until about a year ago.
Richardson was also instrumental in YouthBuild Lakeland, a program offered by the LHA, having previously been involved with YouthBuild in Boston. He was “extremely bright and knowledgeable, but also has a heart for service and cares about people,” Stevenson said. “You don’t find that very often. But he was one of those people, he and his wife.”
Lakeland Police Department
Lakeland Police Department Chaplains volunteer to provide on-call support to members of the department, victims, and family members. According to LPD, “This selfless service makes the Lakeland Police Department a better organization.”
In an email, Chief Sam Taylor wrote, “We were very sad to hear about the passing of Reverend Richard Richardson. We are grateful for the support he offered to the men and women of our agency, and our community during his service as a chaplain for the Lakeland Police Department.”
Before Lakeland
Richardson graduated from Rindge Technical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1947. He married his wife, Jestina, in 1951. The couple had six children, a boy and five girls, Karen, Denise, Stephanie, Kim and Judie. Their only son, Richard W. Richardson II, passed away from leukemia when he was five and a half.
His daughters said their father had many talents — “He was a tailor. He used to make our clothes when we were kids,” daughter Karen Caple recalled. He sewed clothes for Easter, ball gowns for his wife and a wedding dress for their sister, Stephanie Lewis. Richardson also built an addition on their house. “There was nothing he wouldn’t tackle and do well,” Caple said.
“He loved numbers, he loved to figure things out, he loved the process of business, and he really had a heart to help people,” Pruitt said. “He was very generous in every way with his time, with his talent, and with his treasure.”
In 1972, Richardson and Jestina founded Children’s Services of Roxbury. “Mom was the heart of everything, and dad was the hands and feet,” said Pruitt, “so whatever mom wanted to do with a passion, then he would bring that to life.”
Richardson’s daughters said he worked closely with Edwin Land on the invention of Polaroid’s self-developing camera and worked for Digital Equipment Corporation in their founding years. He was one of the first African American managers in General Electric’s aerospace division developing jet engines, earned his master’s degree in education from Cambridge College in 1986, and owned his own business.
He had a very solid business career, “before really taking on his vocation and passion for children and social services,” Pruitt said. He felt a calling from the Lord to minister to the needs of children.
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