Jo-Etta Gay Richardson

Jo-Etta Gay Richardson, 78, of DeRidder, LA, passed away on December 26, 2025, peacefully at home. She was born on July 12, 1947, in Rosepine, LA to George and Vida Shafer and became a lifetime resident of DeRidder. She served as the Director of the War Memorial Civic Center until her retirement in 2012.

Jo-Etta is preceded in death by her first husband, Kenneth Dale Runge and her second husband, Austin Richardson; brothers, George Robert Shafer, Jr., Harold Edmund Shafer, Leo William Shafer, Larry Elmo Shafer, and Jiles Orlando Shafer; sisters, Vivian Shafer Scarborough, Georgia Ray Schafer Burnett, Thelma May Shafer Lewis, and Sandra Kay Shafer.

She is survived by her sons, Daimon Runge & Catherine of Carson City, NV and Jason Runge of DeRidder, LA; grandsons, Zachary Brown of San Antonio, TX and Nathan Runge of Sarasota, FL; granddaughters, Briana Morton, Isabella Runge, Natalie Tullis, Blake Tullis, and Blaze Tullis of Gardner, LA; great-grandchildren, Oliver Brown of Montana and Skyler Brown of San Antonio, TX; and a host of nieces, nephews, family and friends.

Visitation will be Friday, January 2, 2026, from 10am-1pm at Chaddick Funeral Home. Funeral service will be Friday, January 2, 2026, at 1pm at Chaddick Funeral Home. Interment will be at Rosepine Cemetery. Rev. George Lee Glass will officiate.