Robert Gurnie Richardson

Robert Gurnie Richardson of Dothan passed away at his residence on Monday, Nov. 5. He was 65. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8, at Ward-Wilson Funeral Home at Memory Hill Cemetery, 2414 Hartford Highway, with the Rev. John Baxter officiating. Burial will follow at Antioch Assembly of God Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home tonight, Nov. 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. Flowers will be accepted or contributions can be made to Denton Road United Methodist Church. Mr. Richardson was born March 20, 1942, in Jackson County, Fl., to Reuben Stokes Richardson and Ida Lou Richardson. He moved to Dothan at an early age and later attended Dothan High School. He worked in the paper industry for 42 years at Great Southern Paper Company in Cedar Springs, Ga., from 1962 to 1981 and then at International Paper Company in Mansfield, La., from 1981 until his retirement in 2004. From 1964 to 1983, he owned and operated Porter’s Fairyland in Dothan. His real love was gardening and bird watching. He also loved Auburn football and spending time with his family. Mr. Richardson was a member of Denton Road United Methodist Church. Mr. Richardson was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Greather Richardson. He is survived by one daughter, Velda Richardson Rooker, and her husband, Michael, of Auburn; two sons, Jeffrey Richardson, of Dothan, and Jason Richardson, of Helena; his granddaughter, Abigaile Richardson; two brothers, Rufus Richardson, and his wife, Mary, of Dothan, and Ray Richardson and his wife Margaret of Dothan; three sisters, Patricia Sims, and her husband, Beamon, of Atlanta, Ga., Deborah Moody and her husband, Bob, of Newton, and Syretha Richardson of Dothan; one aunt Joann Riley; and 55 nieces and nephews. Serving as pallbearers will be Todd Richardson, Clay Richardson, Keith Richardson, Ray Riley, Sammy Hester, and Mac Senn. Honorary pallbearers are Ronald Richardson, Tony Richardson, James Humphreys, Donald Ray Henry, and Ray Vigil.