Cynthia Lynn Richards, 43, passed peacefully "into heaven" at her home in Woods Bay, out of Bigfork this past weekend.

She was born the third child of James M. and Audrey D. Richards on June 8, 1963, at Malstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. She grew up in Havre and attended school there, graduating with the class of 1982.

During her teenage years, while still attending high school, she worked at the Havre Clinic, pulling charts and filing for incoming patients. After graduation, she continued in this line of work and was employed by the Havre Clinic.

In 1988, she moved to the Flathead Valley and began work for the Flathead Valley Orthopedic Center in Kalispell. She had a smile on her face for all co-workers and patients and was especially fond of the elderly. Upon entering the office she would say, "Hey, hey, hey, it's a great day."

That phrase was a reflection of her most professional work ethic all her life. She gave her very best to any and all she met.

It was in Kalispell that she had and raised her only child, Hannah Jo Sherrill, 17, a senior at Flathead High School.

She recently opened her own private cleaning service which she managed out of her home in Bigfork.

Her interests included hiking, camping, jigsaw puzzles, snowmobiling, her cats, Carla and Speckles, and helping and caring for those less fortunate.

She had a great love of family, and nothing was too much or too tough for her to tackle if it would benefit another person.

She was a witness for Jesus and often said "It's a God thing." She saw and recognized small miracles that others people did not think of.

She is survived by her beloved daughter, Hannah Jo, who was her "Little Barbie Doll;" the immediate family, James M. and Audrey D. Richards, of Happy Valley in Whitefish; sisters, Alison Richards of Whitefish, and Rebecca Richards Lee of Havre; and brother, James Bradley Richards, of Whitefish.

Memorials to Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish to be used for the building fund would please her and the family. Also, the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101 to be used for cancer research for children.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish, followed by a coffee hour.

A private family burial will be afterward at Woodlawn Cemetery in Columbia Falls on Friday, Sept. 22.

Columbia Mortuary in Columbia Falls is in charge of the arrangements.