Evangeline Richardson died on Sept. 8th after many years of debilitating illnesses. Van was born in North Carolina in 1934, the oldest of the eight children of Bishop J.A. Forbes and Mabel Clemens. She was a life-long educator, working with all ages from infants to graduate teachers in many places including Raleigh, NC, Atlantic City, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Stanford, CT, City College, and Bank Street College, NYC. She was one of the earliest members of Lillian Weber's Open Education team at the Workshop Center, CCNY, exploiting her rich experience gained as an early childhood teacher under Sir Alec Clegg in the UK. In her own college days at Shaw University, Van was a noted soprano vocalist. In 1968 she married Gerard Richardson who was a visiting English Speaking Union/Fulbright exchange teacher. They lived in England 1968-72 and their son, Cy, was born in 1969. Cy was a member of Ardsley HS state baseball championship teams, became co-captain of UNC Tar Heels baseball team and is now Vice President for Housing and Community Development, and Senior Research Fellow, with the National Urban League. Cy and his wife Jill, a Spelman College graduate with a doctorate in English from CUNY teaches at BMCC, have a 4 yr old daughter, Naomi, who provided immense joy in Grandma Van's last years. In and out of the classroom, Van was a creative, charismatic presence. She was especially exciting with free movement, informal drama and fostering student interaction and collaboration. The family will be receiving visitors at Christ Chapel, Riverside Church, Manhattan on Wednesday, Sept. 14th from 9-10am and the funeral service is at 10-11 am. Interment will follow at Ferncliff Cemetery, Secor Road, Hartsdale. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be sent to Shaw University, Raleigh, NC.