Ilrid Seed Richards

Ilrid Richards was born Ilrid Christina Seed on March 18, 1971, the daughter of Eva and James Seed. She grew up in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, where even as a child she faced the world with a fearless joy for life, be it dressing up as Wonder Woman and racing down the windy driveway of her childhood home, learning to ski down Sugarloaf in Maine, or driving down the coast to enjoy the pristine beaches of Narragansett. Alongside her brothers, Jonas and Adam, she spent her childhood summers living with her beloved grandparents, Inga and Lars Wahlström, in Göteborg, Sweden, where she learned how to go crabbing, how to laugh without restraint, and began a lifelong passion for exploring her Swedish heritage and culture. Ilrid also gained an early appreciation for the Twin Cities when visiting her other grandparents, Fred and Grace Seed, who introduced her to Minneapolis' lakeside vistas she'd later come to cherish.

A rabid fan of hair metal in her teens, from Bon Jovi to Mötley Crüe, supplemented by a steady flow of other hard-hitters like Prince and Tears for Fears and Phil Collins, Ilrid began what would become a trademark love for 80s music and pop culture. She took this love with her to the University of Denver, where she continued to ski the Rockies, and grew kindred friendships that would continue to bloom for the rest of her life, even as she left Denver for Minneapolis and, with that indomitable hunger for new experiences that drew so many her way, welcomed another foray into the unknown, this time in Minnesota.

In Minneapolis, Ilrid took a job at Warner Bros. Records. There she saw countless of her favorite musicians in concert, met them backstage, and began accruing an arsenal of stories that she would later recount to her starry-eyed children. As time went on, her affinity for the ocean eventually shifted towards the lakes, and she started walking around nearby Lake Harriett with the devotion of a monk. It only took a few years in Minneapolis until she met a sprightly older co-worker, Nancy, who, although unknown to her at the time, would later become her mother in-law. All it took was a blind date and 18 months until Ilrid and Nancy's son, Fritz, were married. Not long after, they welcomed two cherished sons, Wyatt and Gavin, into the world, and spent many summer nights at Nancy and Fred's home for supper and play time on their backyard hill.

Ilrid best expressed love for her children through her unwavering enthusiasm to participate in their lives. Despite her infamously cold hands and feet, Ilrid never hesitated in supporting Gavin's ski racing career. While the rest of the parents huddled together in the chalet, you could often find Ilrid alone, halfway up the hill, donning her long, white coat taking photos on a monopod, bundled up with her electronically-heated gloves as if she were trekking through the Yukon. Long hours at Wyatt's youth lacrosse tournaments and the busy pace of life, she faced each of these flurried moments with an outsized sense of grace and eagerness to never miss a beat.

Her life became richer with the arrival of her beloved cavapoo, Elsa, who provided her with the most devoted walking companion she could have ever asked for. Along with the beginnings of her Swedish-inspired craft business, Ilrid Vikings, she balanced the remainder of her life splitting time between the things, dedications, and people she loved so dearly, and who loved her back all the same.

Few people were ever happier than Ilrid after simple pleasures: a walk around the lake, dinner at sunset, the contentment of seeing a beloved's face after a short time apart. Unlike most people, somehow Ilrid never seemed to lose that simple sense of awe for the beauty of the world that surrounded her - a world each of us would be blessed to see. Aren't we lucky?

To honor and celebrate Ilrid's life, a memorial service will be held on Friday, March 27 at Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church, 5025 Knox Ave S, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419, at 1:00 PM, with a visitation 30 minutes prior. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a charity of the donor's choice.