Former Piedmont resident Mary Rickard passed away unexpectedly on January 9, 2023, near her home in Fall City, Washington. Mary was born in Waterloo, Iowa on July 22, 1962. After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa, she moved to the Bay Area, where she met her husband Graham Rickard. After a courtship that spanned a few years and several cities, they wed in London in January, 1998. After living in London, Detroit, and Alameda, they moved to Piedmont in 2009. Their family included two beautiful children, Alex and Zoë, who both graduated from Piedmont High.
Two years ago, as empty nesters, Mary and Graham moved to Fall City to begin their next adventure. Mary loved the beauty, space, verdant landscape, and warm community there. She took great joy in mowing the lawn, planning her summer garden, cultivating fruit trees, keeping an eye on the local bear, and helping Graham with his beekeeping. She kept in close contact with her family and friends around the world, checking in often and visiting regularly.
Mary loved hiking, biking, knitting/sewing, Scrabble, the New York Times crossword puzzle, Bruce Springsteen, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, the Giants, and the Warriors. She was a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend, with a tremendous sense of loyalty and a delightful sense of humor. Her family and friends are grateful that she passed with a heart overflowing with love and a soul filled with life’s greatest experiences. While we will miss her forever, she will live on in all of us.
Mary was a great believer in the power of public service and community. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Habitat for Humanity, one of Mary’s favorite organizations.
“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you . . . I could walk in my garden forever.”
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Mary Rickard’s obituary ran in the SF Chronicle on January 19, 2023. It has been reprinted here with the permission of the Rickard family.