The widely loved primary school teacher, writer, and poet, Frances Palacio Richards, popularly known as “Yolie,” was laid to rest in Belize City on Thursday afternoon, after a moving thanksgiving service held at 3:00 inside a packed St. Martin De Porres Church.
Mrs. Richards passed away at the age of 42 on Friday, August 14, after suffering heart failure.
The celebrant for the service was Joe Damhorst, and credits for the eulogy go to Yolene Richards (her daughter) and Jessie Usher-Perez.
The beat of the Garifuna drums echoed through the streets of Lake I as friends and relatives carried her body for burial at the Lord’s Ridge Cemetery.
Mrs. Richards, originally from Hopkins Village, Stann Creek, was a primary school teacher for 25 years, and she last taught at the St. Martin De Porres School.
Last October, she captured the title of the Garifuna pageant, Miss Yurumein, with her energetic john kunu dancing, drama skills, and her exceptional stage presence.
Richards was featured in the 2006 Belizean Poets Anthology, after capturing one of the top spots in the emerging poets category of the Belize Poets Contest, organized by the Belizean Writers and Poets Society.
Frances Palacio Richards is survived by her husband, Rodwell Richards; her daughter, Yolie Richards; her two sons: Lindsbert and Leonard Lewis; sisters: Guadalupe Rubio, Gloria and Jane Lambey, Jestine Johnson, Alice Ortiz, and Alfonsa Witty; brothers: James, Charles and Joseph Palacio, and Phillip Castillo, and several other relatives and friends.