Dates
Anne was born in El Paso, Texas, the youngest of four children of Luther Irving and Martha Alice (Cantrill) Davis. She enjoyed a happy childhood, having a love for animals (especially dogs), dabbling with art, and excelling in her schoolwork. After graduating from Coronado High School in 1973, she attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, for 14 years where she met the love of her life, Lawrence Richmond. By transferring to the University of Texas at El Paso for a semester, she was better able to prepare for her marriage to Lawrence on June 1, 1975.
While Lawrence attended Lutheran seminaries, Anne worked at various jobs such as as an institutional cook, a lab animal attendant, and a switchboard operator. She also completed a third year of college at the University of Minnesota towards an unfinished degree in Biology with a special interest in Ethology.
She and Lawrence moved numerous times and worked at a variety of jobs. Lawrence completed his Master of Divinity Degree at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in 1985 and served parishes in Wyoming, Oregon, and California.
Rural life suited them well, and many good and pleasant times were spent on ranches, working with sheep primarily. Bicycling was their preferred mode of transportation, and the two of them were often seen on their tandem bicycle. Later, “The F lying Burro Express” was a small “mom & pop” delivery business they had for several years, using their familiar white Astro vans.
As the years passed, Anne’s work focused upon care giving, and she was honored to be her parents’ primary caregiver in their final years. Although she and Lawrence had no children, their family and their church family were very important to them.
Upon retirement, they moved to Eden, Texas in 2017. Lawrence passed away in 2022. They had been married for 47 years. Being Lawrence’s “bride” had been Anne’s calling in life.
Anne had varied interests in the arts. She also enjoyed music, especially hymns. One of her favorite hobbies was quilting, and she orchestrated many friendship quilts. Another was calligraphy, to which she had been introduced at Reed College. Calligraphy, of all the arts, allowed her the clearest way to express her thoughts artistically. In the autumn, she would be found working on a design for that year’s Christmas card. It was a way she could share her and Lawrence’s Christian faith with others, far and near. Similarly, one could expect to find a Bible or hymn verse embroidered on her quilts. One of her last projects was embroidering three large tapestry panels of the Creation Account found in Genesis 1-2:3, in Hebrew because “that’s the language God chose originally, and no translation does complete justice to it.” These panels are displayed at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas.
Anne is preceded in death by her dear husband Lawrence, and her parents. She is survived by her sisters, Linda Jo Davis of California and Irene Sue Fitzgibbon of Ballinger, Texas; her brother David Irving Davis and his wife Shelley, of Denton, Texas, and their families; two Godchildren, Eric and Natalie Dubbel; and a sister-in-law, Mardell Richmond and her husband, Richard Paine of Washington.
There will be a visitation on Monday, August 3rd from 5:00pm-7:00pm at Eden Funeral Home. A service will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Eden, Texas at 10am on Tuesday, August 4th with a graveside service will be held at the Paint Rock Cemetery following.