Christa Marie Richardson, of St. Paul, Minn., passed away peacefully on April 5, 2024, at the age of 55.
Born on July 11, 1968, in Boston, Christa spent her childhood in Marshfield, and cherished many wonderful summers on Martha’s Vineyard with her beloved pony, Sadie. After her parents separated, Christa moved to Vermont, where she graduated from Wilmington High School, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in communications from Emerson College in Boston.
Christa’s life was marked by her adventurous spirit and deep compassion for others. Throughout her life, she was passionate about caring for those who needed help. She had a special place in her heart for horses and dogs. We all have fond memories of her dogs, Mo, Romeo, and London. Christa worked with horses in the summers in Union, Maine, and then with equine rescues in Massachusetts, and there was always a dog in her house.
After college, Christa interned at National Geographic Magazine in Washington, D.C. Her dedication to helping others was evident in her work for the Marriott Hotel in Virginia, where she helped train people on welfare to join the Marriott workforce, and was very successful at it.
Later, Christa was a DJ on the Martha’s Vineyard public radio station, and took a job working with the mentally challenged on Martha’s Vineyard.
Christa moved to St. Paul, Minn., where she started her own business, and met her husband, John Dow, and his children, who became her own, Grayson, Genna, and Griffin.
Christa is survived by her husband, John Dow, and Genna and Griffin of St. Paul; her father, David Richardson, and his wife, Ellen, of Bristol, R.I.; her brother, John Richardson, and his wife Ellen Sibley, and nephews Benjamin and Alexander, all of Wellesley; his stepsister, Nancy Danielson, and her husband Charles Danielson, and their sons, Henry, Ethan, and Oliver, who called Christa their Tante, all of Martha’s Vineyard; and by her stepbrother, Michael Sutherland of Alexandria, Va. Christa was predeceased by her mother, Erika Richardson, and son, Grayson Dow.
A service for Christa was held at the First Parish Unitarian Church in Concord on Friday, May 31. Burial took place in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.
