John & Naomi Richey
Dr. John William Richey passed away on December 26, 2020, at a nursing facility in Auburn, CA. He was 93. John was born on December 18, 1927, in Seattle, WA, to Everett and Iva Richey, the youngest of three children.
Naomi Alice Richey passed away on January 10, 2021 at home in an assisted living facility in Grass Valley, CA. She was 94. Naomi was born on July 9, 1926 in Spokane, WA, to Forrest and Lilia Monette, the youngest of four children.
John and Naomi met as teens in 1944, and they married in 1946. They enjoyed 74 years together and had three sons.
John and Naomi both graduated with BA degrees from Seattle Pacific College. John served in education for the Christian Temperance Association in Minnesota in the 1950s, while getting a Masters degree in psychology. He taught at Yakima Valley College until 1963, when the family moved to San Francisco for John to attend medical school, earning his MD in 1967 at UCSF. He trained in Radiology at UC Irvine, and practiced Radiology in Southern California in La Habra and Anaheim. Always a lover of education, John also graduated with a law degree from Western State University in 1977.
They encouraged and supported their sons in college education, and all three pursued post graduate degrees.
Naomi earned a Masters degree in library science from the University of Washington and worked as a high school librarian in South San Francisco and Santa Ana, CA.
After retiring, they moved to Antelope, CA, to be nearer to their children. Their last three years were spent in Grass Valley, CA.
They were long-time members of Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Costa Mesa, CA and Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in Fair Oaks, CA. More recently, they attended First Baptist Church of Grass Valley with 4 generations of the family.
They were known for their generosity to their family and were also liberal in sharing with missionaries, church, multiple charities and the homeless. They were influential in the lives of many, both family and friends. Their home was a welcoming place. Naomi was the sweetest person in the world and served all who knew her with joyful heart and hands. John and Naomi loved to read and travel the world together, as their library and passports testify.
John & Naomi are survived by their sons, Karl (& Maria) Richey of Ketchikan, AK, Mark (& Judy) Richey of Nevada City, CA, and Curtis (& Carol) Richey of Napa, CA, and by 11 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.
They were preceded in death by John’s parents, Everett and Iva Richey, and his sisters Fay (& Harold) Sweet and Alice (& Dwight) Millikan. They were preceded in death by Naomi‘s parents, Forrest and Lilia Monette, and her sisters Marguerite (& Lloyd) Anderson and Marie (& Herbert) Bard and brother Kenneth (& Elizabeth) Monette. John & Naomi were the last of their generation in both of their families. They were also preceded in death by five nephews and three nieces.
Special thanks go to the staff of Sierra View Manor in Grass Valley for the loving care received for the last 3 years of their lives.
A memorial service will be deferred to a later date.
Memorial contributions can be made to: Habitat for Humanity, PO Box 2997, Grass Valley, California, 95945.
