Rosalie Richardson d. 1982

RICHARDSON, ROBERTS, ACKLEY, BARIL, BLODGETT

Posted By: Sharyl Ferrall
Date: 5/2/2006 at 06:17:42

Rosalie (Ackley) Roberts Richardson of Belmont, a special education teacher there for 24 years, died of cancer at home Sunday. She was 70.

She began teaching in Belmont in 1955 and in 1967 was given a special award by the Belmont School Committee for "extraordinary contributions" to the system. She lived in Belmont since 1944.

Ms. Richardson had been a speech therapist at the Children's Hospital Cerebral Palsy Nursery School, and, according to her family, established the speech department at Kennedy Memorial Hospital for Children in Brighton in 1953. In the early 1950s, she was involved in founding the Boston and national associations for retarded citizens.

She had been on the Lesley College faculty and had been on the board of trustees for Green Acres Day School, the Flora Kovalsky Foundation and the Hampshire Country School in New Hampshire.

Born in Ottumwa, Iowa, she was graduated cum laude from Parsons College in Iowa and earned her master's degree in education, with honors, at Boston University.

In 1950, Ms. Richardson was elected to the National Women's Honor Society in Education.

She leaves a son, Bruce Roberts of Watertown; two daughters, Bromley Baril of New Hampshire and Shelie Blodgett of Belmont; three stepsons, Gary Richardson of Boston, Bryan Richardson of Gloucester and Tim Richardson of Maine; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at First Church in Belmont, Unitarian-Universalist.

-Boston Globe, December 1, 1982