Mary A. Richards

Longtime Antrim County resident Mary Anna (Dreyer) Richards passed away peacefully on August 27, 2026. Mary grew up in the Detroit area, where she helped raise her siblings and nephews and enjoyed Campfire Girls activities. She graduated from Michigan State University where she met and married Donald Hale Richards.

After a brief time together as part of the U.S. Army post-WWII German Occupation forces, they returned to the United States and lived near Fairbanks, Alaska, where Mary began her teaching career. In the late 1950s, the couple settled in Bellaire, Michigan, where they raised three children: Christine, Jeffrey, and Patrick, at their home on Lake Bellaire.

Mary was actively involved in her community as a leader in many organizations, including Weight Watchers, Girl and Boy Scouts. She hosted a rural fluoridation clinic and served as a team mother for her sons’ high school and college ski teams. An avid gardener, outdoorswoman and conservationist, Mary played an instrumental role in establishing the Three Lakes Association and the Grass River Natural Area.

Mary worked as a schoolteacher in Alba, Michigan, for many years. In retirement, she became a passionate world traveler, visiting every state and scores of foreign countries across all continents, often as a backpacker or aboard various sailing vessels.

For over 63 years, Mary’s residence on Lake Bellaire was a beloved gathering place for friends and family, known for summer campfires and winter outings, where she welcomed all with open arms and a wealth of stories.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald, and daughter Christine. She is survived by Christine’s spouse Paul Littler, Jeffrey and Robin (Lundquist) Richards, and Patrick and Sharon (Greene) Richards, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was deeply loved and will be fondly remembered by all who knew her.

Arrangements are in the care of the Bellaire Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes.  Please sign her online guestbook at www.mortensenfuneralhomes.com