Saratoga Springs, NY- Jean Andrews Richards, 99, of Saratoga Springs, died peacefully on Friday, August 25, 2023.

She was born on July 24, 1924 to Stephen Elwood and Lotta Smith Andrews and raised on the family farm in Hurlock, Maryland. After graduating from high school, she went on to major in chemistry at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College, and then earned a Master's Degree in chemistry from Columbia University. From there, she went to work at Merck and Company, where she was part of the research team that first synthesized cortisone. It was at Merck and Company that she met Donald Richards, and they married in 1949, sharing 68 years of marriage before his death in 2017. They raised their two children, Donald and Susan, in Bernards Township, NJ. While she was raising their children, Jean also worked part time as a chemist for Chemical Research Associates in Bernardsville, NJ.

Seeking new challenges, Jean and Don relocated to Saratoga Springs in 1972, and she taught chemistry at Skidmore College. She earned a Master's Degree in Library Science at SUNY Albany and then used this knowledge in work for Sterling Winthrop, Inc. and eventually started her own information retrieval consulting business. When she retired, she worked as a volunteer in the library at Saratoga Hospital, continuing to help with information retrieval for doctors and nurses there.

Jean's greatest loves in her life were Don and their family. She took tremendous joy in being a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, and loved to be part of family trips, holidays, and celebrations. She was an avid gardener and a fantastic cook, known for her cinnamon buns, barbequed chicken, and blueberry pie. She was a curious, lifelong learner, a voracious reader, and took swimming, ice skating, and skiing lessons as an adult. She also began studying calculus for the first time in her forties.

In addition to Don, Jean was preceded in death by her parents and her two brothers, Philip and Elwood. She is survived by her children Donald K. Richards Jr. and wife Judith of Morristown, NJ, and Susan R. McKay of Holden, ME, her four grandchildren Elizabeth McKay and husband Nathan Fleet, Tracy McKay, Donald Richards III, and David Richards and wife Kari Marton- Rollins. She is also survived by her five great grandchildren, Colin and Benjamin Fleet and Henry, Charlie, and Benjamin Richards.

Jean's family wants to express their deepest appreciation to the caregivers and other members of the medical team who provided such compassionate and skilled care for her during her final years. They enriched her life through their day-to-day interactions with her, bringing so much warmth and humor to her home.

Funeral services will be held at 3:00 pm on Thursday, August 31, 2023 at the Presbyterian – United Church of Christ, 24 Circular Street, in Saratoga Springs. Burial will be in the family plot in Lawrenceville Cemetery, Lawrenceville, NJ.  Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/ Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Home, 628 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jean's memory to Shelters of Saratoga (P.O. Box 3089, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866), the Presbyterian – United Church of Christ, or the charity of one's choice.

Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com.