Richardson, Sarah
RICHARDSON, Sarah
Sarah "Sally" Pickett Richardson, 79, died in her home in Atlanta on June 15, 2023. She was born February 26, 1944, in Nashville, TN but grew up in what was then a small town, Bowling Green, KY. Sally graduated from College High School along with many of her kindergarten classmates. She represented Kentucky at Girls Nation in Washington, DC in 1961 before leaving for Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. Two years later, she migrated north to the University of Michigan and graduated with a degree in English. A new interest in dance and physical movement took her to the University of Wisconsin and a M.S. in Dance. She returned to Atlanta, which became her permanent home, in 1966 where her varied interests and multiple skills would shine. She taught creative movement in the Urban Laboratory In Education, at Trinity School, the Greater Atlanta Arts Council Model Cities Performing Arts Project and Project Radius. Following in her mother's social worker footsteps, she became a Cottage Program Specialist at the Georgia Retardation Center and then a Foster Care Caseworker for DeKalb County. In 1978 she became the Director of the Education Program, Georgia Council for the Arts and Humanities. In 1981 she made a dramatic move and joined Coca-Cola USA. Although there wasn't much room for dancing at Coke, she took her people skills and deep organizational and attention-to-detail talent to forge an 18-year career, ultimately becoming National Trade Shows and Conventions manager. She retired in 1999 to spend more time in Bowling Green to care for her parents.
Sally was short in physical stature but tall in the desire to do things right and to care for others, particularly those with less advantage. At the same time, she also wanted to see the world. She pursued her artistic talents with annual trips to Europe and particularly to Florence where she maintained friendships with artists, hoteliers, and their families. She was known to rail against autocracy, prejudice, self-dealing and dishonesty. She travelled widely and often for Coke, developing a remarkable cadre of friends in the hospitality and beverage industries, friends that ranged from service level persons to managers of major international hotels. To Sally, everyone she met became part of her family, to be remembered on birthdays and holidays, often with a bag of Georgia pecans or slices of Kentucky ham (before she became a vegetarian). They had to accept being addressed as "Darlin" or "Cookie". It was the same for her Coke family. Positivity was her mantra. She believed that all things were possible. She was deeply religious, a serious student of her faith, and her church friends became increasingly important to her over time. Animals, especially dogs and cats which she referred to as "critters", were always in residence until Covid, and like her many friends, were part of her extended family.
In recent years she began writing poetry sharing her rediscovered talent with her friends and family.
She is survived by her brother, Harry B. Richardson, Jr., MD, and his wife, Dee, of Santa Rosa, CA; her niece, Jennifer Richardson, MSN, and her husband, Shawn Brumbaugh, Ph.D, of Santa Rosa, CA; her nephew, Harry (Pete) B. Richardson, III and his partner, Laurel Eastman of Victor, ID; and two nieces, Zoe and Katherine Jo Brumbaugh; plus the many friends that she called family around the world.
Per her request, there will be no formal service and Sally's ashes will be buried with her parents in Bowling Green, KY.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Church of Christ, Scientist, 446 Clairemont Ave, Decatur, GA 30030 or a charity of your choice. And following her example, she would want you to help someone else at each opportunity.
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