Celebrating a remarkable life and supporting her scholarship fund

Published in the September 6, 2018 edition

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING —The death of one’s child is the most difficult of life’s sorrows to overcome. No one ever wants to become a member of this club.

Nine years ago this coming fall, the unimaginable happened to Penny and Dave Richards when their only child, Penney “PJ” Richards, was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in Reading. She had been a passenger on that motorcycle and her friend, the driver, was also killed. They had just left the funeral of another friend. Only 25, she had just begun to start on the career path that she believed was her true calling.

PJ’s vivacious personality had touched many in her short life. Over 1,300 people attended her wake and funeral. A 2001 graduate of North Reading High School, at the time of her death PJ was a medical assistant with Massachusetts General Hospital’s North Shore Cancer Center in Danvers, and was preparing to enter a radiation/oncology program to further her education. Working with patients and also helping to nurse her own mom through her breast cancer treatments in 2007 inspired PJ to seek to continue her education.

Over these past nearly nine years, Penny and Dave have walked a difficult path toward consoling the inconsolable in themselves. They have succeeded in doing so in part by sharing their daughter’s spirit with the world through the establishment of a non-profit scholarship fund specifically geared to those students who truly have a calling to work within the medical field.

PENNEY “PJ” RICHARDS was always ready to embrace the world and all it had to offer. This photo captures her spirit perfectly. It was taken shortly before her tragic death nine years ago. Her parents keep her spirit of giving alive through the nonprofit scholarship fund they established, the Penney Richards Memorial Scholarship Fund. (Paul Bilodeau Photography)

The four winners of Penney’s Class of 2018 scholarship awards will be announced this Saturday night at the 9th annual A Fabulous Night for Penney celebration at the Woburn Elks, for which tickets are still available (details below).

Dave and Penny will present four scholarships totaling $10,000 to these students and the occasion also marks another milestone in this journey. With these awards, The Penney Richards Memorial Scholarship Fund has presented $75,000 in scholarships to deserving students.

It is both inspirational and remarkable. And it never ceases to amaze them how PJ continues to inspire others. One such anecdote is best told in her mother’s own words from a recent Facebook post where they promote the hundreds of donations to be raffled off at their 9th annual Fabulous Night for Penney on Saturday:

“A Scholarship Story: In 2016 the scholarship committee selected a number of very qualified applicants for awards, and we met Jillian Herr, who told us that her dream was to work on the cardiac floor at Lahey Clinic. Fast forward to yesterday. Dave’s mother is a patient at Lahey, recuperating from a heart valve procedure (and doing well, we expect she will be discharged Sunday).

“Dave was visiting with Flo when her day shift nurse walked in with the night nurse – to introduce the two and talk through Flo’s care plan. The night nurse was Jillian, one of Penney’s 2016 scholars.

“In that moment, the circle was completed for us in the most personal of ways.

“Penney’s dream to advance her medical career mirrored Jillian’s dream, and with the financial assistance of Penney’s scholarship fund, Jillian is living her dream. And she’s living Penney’s dream. And Jillian is overseeing Penney’s grandmother’s medical care and improving cardiac health.

“It is as if it is Penney herself nursing her grandmother. We do not know how to begin thanking all of the fabulous donors and Fabulous Night guests who help us do what we do – to help people like Jillian do what they do – to help people like Penney’s grandmother.”

In Dave’s eulogy for his daughter, he had lamented: “Sadly, the world will never know what good you could have given.” Although they will always grieve for their daughter, through these scholarship recipients, PJ’s goodness continues to touch the lives of others.

As Penny explained, “We wanted awards for those continuing their education in healthcare who demonstrated a commitment to their careers, not kids coming out of high school who ‘thought’ they ‘might’ like work in healthcare. And Penney was actually the blueprint for our choices. She left high school wanting a career in law enforcement. That never happened.”

Most winners have been from the Greater Boston area but they have also supported students in Louisiana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania because they have no restriction on residency.

HAPPY TIMES. An oceanside photo shoot was a perfect occasion for PJ, Dave and Penny Richards to create a memorable Christmas card that November back in 2009. Just two short weeks later, an accident would take PJ from their sights, but never their hearts. (Paul Bilodeau Photography)

To date, three scholarships have been presented to North Reading natives. They are: Lauren Van Laetham Burch, in 2011, who was a friend and classmate of PJ; Kristina Martin Gilbert of Riverside Drive, in 2014, and Hayley Sabella of Burroughs Road, in 2016.

How to get on board

“A Fabulous Night for Penney” is this Saturday, September 8 from 7 – 11 p.m. at the Woburn Elks, 295 Washington St., Woburn. It’s a 21-plus event. Tickets are available at the door for $20 per person and $35 per couple or email Penny to hold a table (pennyjrichards@gmail.com). Cash, credit cards and checks are accepted. Because The Penney Richards Memorial Scholarship Fund is a 501(3)c charitable organization, all donations are tax deductible.

It’s a cash bar and guests are welcome to bring their own snacks but not their own alcohol. They can even stop by Sal’s Pizza next door to the Elks and bring it to the event.

The night will feature a 50/50 raffle and door prizes alongside an impressive slate of dozens of raffle items that have been donated to Dave and Penny nonstop. Each day on her Facebook page she features a photo of the “raffle of the day,” and it’s always impressive.

Penny explained that there are two levels of raffles – pink tickets for items under $100 in value are $5 for 10 tickets and green tickets for items over $100 in value are 3 tickets for $5. All tickets are deposited in numbered buckets, corresponding to the item number. 

In addition, there are several high-end auction items available to the highest bidders. Two leather office chairs, to be sold as the pair, were donated from friends in Pittsburgh “who make the trek each year to work the event with us. They own an office supply/furniture business similar to a Staples store,” Penny said.

Also to be auctioned off are “two handmade quilts made specifically for this event, one from a friend in Maine who has made one for us each year, the other from a Facebook friend in Illinois who I have never met face-to-face. It touches my heart in ways I cannot describe – and shows Penney’s reach and impact, even after all  these years,” her mom says.

For the sports enthusiasts, other donated items include an autographed hockey puck from Noel Acciari of the Boston Bruins; it comes with a certificate of authenticity, and a signed Brock Holt ball that was a gift from the Red Sox. Penny notes that it does not have a certificate of authenticity.

And since PJ loved to have a good time, this event is held as a celebration of her life, so expect to have a fabulous time with friends while trying your luck at winning raffes as varied as Red Sox tickets, ski passes and home electronics to jewelry, Coach bags and tickets to Screamfest at Canobie Lake Park.