Nell Bryant Richardson

1930 - 2022

Nell Elizabeth Bryant Richardson was born on May 19, 1930 in Nassawadox, Virginia and passed away on January 19, 2022. She was the daughter of the late Richard Orman and Nell Johnson Bryant and the sister of the late Jane Virginia Bryant and Anne Bryant Nock. Nell's father was a United Methodist minister and district superintendent, so during her childhood she moved frequently, as her father's church assignments took the family from Nassawadox to Richmond, Farmville, Lynchburg, Winchester, and Norfolk when she was growing up. When Nell was a junior in high school, her family was moved to Norfolk. Having attended Handley High School in Winchester, Nell was told that her education was not on par with Norfolk schools, and that she would be unable to transfer into 11th grade at Granby High School but instead repeat 10th grade; the Granby administrator did not even want to issue her textbooks. Nell's mother insisted that Nell was a very good student and so the administrator reluctantly agreed to let her transfer to 11th grade. Nell went on to become valedictorian of the Granby High School class of 1948. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in 1952 and majored in music with minors in math and chemistry, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She later received a master's degree in guidance and counseling and a certificate of advanced study from Old Dominion University.

Nell taught math at Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth from 1952 to 1956. She married Barrett Rives Richardson in 1954, and they had a loving and happy marriage for 66 years. Nell stayed at home to raise three children while being a church organist at Court Street Baptist Church and returned to her education career in the 1970s. She was principal of Alliance Christian High School in Portsmouth, taught math at Lynnhaven Junior High School, and was appointed assistant principal of Princess Anne High School in 1985. Nell loved teaching junior high and high school students.

One of Nell's biggest challenges as assistant principal of Princess Anne was the fire of September 1, 1995 which made Princess Anne unable to open on schedule that September. One of the casualties of the fire was the destruction of the master schedule for the school's 1900 students. Nell had to deal with the rescheduling for teachers and students alike, condensing the schedule for a shortened school day, shuffling classes into a new building and portable classrooms, and then converting everything to a block schedule. When school opened 11 days later, every student had a schedule. As a result, Nell was named "Assistant Principal of the Year" in 1986 by the Virginia School Boards Association. At Princess Anne, Nell also played a key role in initiating the Princess Anne Center for Pregnant Teens' program into the mainstream of the high school, the "School Within A School" model for ninth grade at-risk students, and the International Baccalaureate program. Until her retirement in 2004, Nell also very much enjoyed attending all of the PA students' athletic events after school and on weekends. After retirement, Nell volunteered to help senior citizens with tax preparation through AARP, and continued to play the organ at Court Street Baptist Church in Portsmouth, a job she held and enjoyed for over 40 years. She and her husband also loved annual summer trips to Europe during her retirement years.

The family would like to thank caregivers Gaye Cuffee, Tamika Hunter, Jasmine Jones, and Etienne Williams for their love, kindness, patience, and professionalism while Nell and her late husband were residents of Lake Prince Woods in Suffolk, and express appreciation to the wonderful staff of Unity House at Bridgewater Home in Bridgewater for comfort and care in her final months.

Nell is survived by her children Ellen Richardson Davenport, Barrett Richardson, Jr., and John Bryant Richardson, and three granddaughters, Alice Brooks Davenport, Julia Barrett Davenport, and Sarah Lin Kerr-Applewhite.

Burial will be private, and a memorial service will be held for a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be offered to the Endowment Fund of Monumental United Methodist Church or the Endowment Fund of Court Street Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Virginia. www.SturtevantFH.com