Fred Thomas Richardson, of Chatham, died Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, at Springfield Memorial Hospital after a long illness. He was 82.

Richardson was born Jan. 18, 1941 in Fayetteville, Tenn. the son of William Clarence and Doris Bell Richardson in Fayetteville, Tenn. He attended high school in Nashville, Tenn., and Clearwater, Fla., before joining the U.S. Air Force where he was assigned to the Strategic Air Command as a radar operator. He served in the Air Force from 1959 to 1964, attaining the rank of Airman First Class.

It was while he was serving at a radar installation in Ellisville, Miss., that Richardson met his future wife, Mary Stumph. They wed March 16, 1964, in a small ceremony in her parents' house in Laurel, Miss.

After leaving the military, Richardson worked as an oil rig electrician in the Gulf of Mexico. He enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss., in 1964. After taking an accounting class, his professor urged him to consider accounting as a career. He heeded the advice and graduated in 1967 with a degree in accounting. When he took the exam to become a Certified Public Accountant, he earned the highest score among those sitting for the exam in Georgia.

Richardson began his career with the Haskins and Sells accounting firm in Atlanta before joining Decosimo in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was later named partner. He served as CFO for the NavCo service station chain and CFO for Lora Lee Knitting Co., both in Chattanooga; vice president for finance for W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery in Bradford, Pa.; and later as CFO for Metal Systems and vice president for finance for Electric Motor Sales & Supply, both in Chattanooga.

He and a partner founded a sailboat sales business, Sails and Things. An offshoot business, Wings and Things, focused on aircraft sales.

Richardson was assistant fire chief of the Ellisville Volunteer Fire Department and an elder at Lake Hills Church of Christ in Chattanooga. He was a member of Clear Lake Church of Christ in Springfield. He was a lifetime member of the AICPA and the Tennessee Society of CPAs.

He was a licensed pilot, a beekeeper and an avid hunter who trained Labrador Retrievers with the Chattanooga Retriever Club. One of his dogs, Joy, was a national champion. One of Richardson's passions was carpentry, and he built several of the Little Libraries in Chatham.

Nothing made Richardson happier than tinkering in a garage on his 1964 Corvette Stingray or on one of his grandchildren's cars. He was the family's go-to person for any home improvement project, appliance repair or electrical problem.

Richardson is survived by his wife, Mary of Springfield, Ill.; a son, David Richardson (John) of Atlanta; a daughter, Catherine Broadbooks (Jon) of Springfield; three grandchildren, Tucker Broadbooks of Washington, D.C., and Anna Grace Broadbooks and Virginia Broadbooks of Springfield, Ill.

Services will be 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at Vancil-Murphy Funeral Home in Springfield, with visitation an hour before the service.

The family would like to thank the staffs at Springfield Memorial Hospital and Springfield Clinic for excellent care.

Memorials in Richardson's memory may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital.