Hope Jackson (Smith) Rickman, 92, of Marion (formerly of Sudbury, MA), died peacefully surrounded by her family, on March 21, 2015, at Island Terrace Nursing Home in Lakeville, Massachusetts.
She was the wife of the late Earl Calaway Rickman, and the mother of the late Hope Jackson “Hopi” Rickman.
Born in Berlin, NH, the youngest of three children to the late Ray Clifford Smith and Edith Jackson (Lott) Smith, and grew up in Auburndale and Sudbury, MA. She and her husband raised their family in the San Francisco Bay Area (Walnut Creek and Cowell) before retiring to Sudbury in 1974, and later she moved to Marion in 2010.
She studied art in Boston, MA, Booth Bay Harbor, ME, and Jacksonville, FL, prior to her marriage. She taught nursery school and art to adults enjoying every moment, as well as the fine arts and designing gardens. She was a caring soul who made friends with everyone she encountered to the end of her life.
Survivors include: her son Calvin C. “Jim” Rickman of Harvard, MA, her daughter, Elizabeth Leatham and her son-in-law Douglas of Marion, MA, as well as her beloved five grandchildren Heidi (Rickman) Maggio, Jason Rickman, Joshua Rickman and Sarah Hope (Leatham) Yi, Margo B. (Leatham) Marusek. She is also survived by her eight great-grandchildren Wesley & Andre Maggio, Ryan & Travis Rickman, Ryan & Eric Yi, and Peter & Willa Marusek. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews: Linda, Alexandra, Dorcas, Christopher, Nicholas, and Alyson.
She was the sister to the late Ray Clifford “Jim” Smith, and sister to the late Linda Easton (Smith) Brown.
Mrs. Rickman was a communicant of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Sudbury, and Saint Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Marion.
Her Graveside Service will be held on Saturday April 18 at 10 a.m. in Old Town Cemetery in Sudbury. Her Memorial Service will follow at 11 a.m., with a reception immediately after, at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Sudbury.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Hope’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org, advancing research to end Alzheimer’s and dementia while enhancing care for those living with the disease. http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp.
Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdyer.com.