Title	Mrs.
Last Name	Richards
First Name	M. Elizabeth
Middle Name
Maiden Name	Hartley
Nick Name
Place of Birth	Corinna, Me
Date of Birth	1937-10-23
Place of Death	Concord, NH
Date of Death	2021-02-23
Publication	Eastern Gazette 2013-03-05,p.9
Obituary	M. Elizabeth Richards October 23, 1937 - February 23, 2021 On February 23, 2021, the very day that she reached the grand age of 1,000 months (83 years and 4 months) old, Elizabeth (Hartley) Richards concluded her remarkable life and went to join her true love Elden. With the love and support of her two-legged and four-legged family, she passed peacefully while sleeping in the home she shared with her middle daughter Ann. She had faced and overcome so many health issues over the past decade, and even before, that it can truly be said that she played her life well into double overtime- fitting for one, who in her youth, played basketball for the Corinna Union Academy. The 5th and middle child of Mary Ann Bemis Phelps Hartley, she began her life on October 23, 1937, in a farmhouse in Corinna, Maine. Her siblings were Bernice and Raymond Phelps, and John, Albert, George, Robert, Janice, and Azeanith “Zenie” Hartley. After two years of being courted, Elizabeth married Elden Richards, the love of her life on October, 30, 1955. Within a few years, they settled near family in Dexter, Maine to raise their three daughters- Kathy, Ann, and Mary. Together they built their own house, adding to it as they could afford, and even hand dug their own well. Without a mortgage and living within their means, Elizabeth and Elden taught their girls how to live a Do-It-Yourself life before it became popularized on cable TV. Their life together brought them hardship and joy, and eventually grandchildren- all boys! Elizabeth leaves behind her daughters-Kathy Richards and her husband Joseph Cleaves, Ann Richards, and Mary Clukey and her husband Peter; as well as grandsons Marc Richards and Adam Mooers; a step-grandson Mike Mooers; two great-grandsons Tristin Chisholm and Nolan Mooers; a brother Robert Hartley, sisters Janice Nichols and Zenie Lockwood; many nieces and nephews; sisters-in-law Marilyn, Mary Ann, and Lois; good neighbors and friends; and a few special pets that include a German Shepherd Dog and three rescued cats. Predeceasing Elizabeth were her husband of over 27 years Elden; her grandson Eric Mooers; brothers Raymond, John, George, and Albert; and sister Bernice. Elizabeth loved life and among its greatest joys for her were: her large extended family which included her pets, reading, bird watching, the outdoors, the backyard pool, jigsaw puzzles, cooking concoctions (personalized recipes that she searched out online, in magazine and on TV), camp time on Lake Wassookeag, canoeing, trips to the ocean, Maine lobsters and strawberries, gardening, country fairs, community events, Kiwanis auctions, fence-side chats with the neighbors, and the fireplace in the “relaxation” room. Elizabeth asked us to remember her as a HOMEMAKER, a caring, loving wife, a mother, and a friend. To honor her life, she requested that we “Do unto others as you would as you would have them do unto you.” In lieu of flowers, please pay it forward in the way most meaningful to you