Mildred Jean Rickard, age 86, of Hanson, Kentucky, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at Dawson Springs Health and Rehabilitation Center. Jean was a woman of unshakable faith and wholehearted devotion, known for her deep love of Scripture and her passionate life of prayer. To know her was to know a true prayer warrior–bold, fearless, and full of faith. She prayed with authority, believed for the impossible, and carried the fire of heaven everywhere she went. Jean was born into a large and loving family as one of nineteen children. Her childhood was filled with faith, hard work, and prayer, values that became her foundation. She grew into a talented and industrious woman, becoming a skilled seamstress and craft maker, helping ends meet through tough times, and worked at Enro Shirt Company for a number of years. On October 31, 1957, she married the love of her life, Charles Raymond Rickard, and together they began a journey marked by ministry, service, and adventure. Their shared calling to serve others shaped every season of their lives. They helped establish and support many churches both locally and in other states, and even operated a children’s home and personal care facility in Blue Mountain, MS. Many in the community fondly remember their years serving together at Hanson Elementary School–Charles as custodian and Jean caring for students in the cafeteria. Together, they also led hundreds of home Bible studies that helped many people come to know Christ and grow in their faith, leaving an eternal legacy in the lives they touched. Jean was welcomed into heaven by her beloved husband, Charles, who passed away shortly after their 60th wedding anniversary; her granddaughter, Autumn Brook Clark; her parents, Chester and Haline Gates; and her siblings Edna Wells, Everlene Gates, Betty Gates, J.C. Gates, Hattie Baldwin, Lindle Gates, Virginia Harden, James Gates, Doris Kasel, and Jewell Gates. She is lovingly remembered by her children Teresa Oliver (Dr. David Oliver) of Princeton, KY, Julie Frias (Mario) of Hanson, KY, and Brad Rickard (Deborah) of Knoxville, TN; her grandchildren Brandon Shanks (Kara), Caleb Oliver (Allison), Sarah Rose Hussey (Nathanael), Destin Wells (Trevor), and Joel Rickard (Natalie); and her great-grandchildren Hudson Shanks, Karter Shanks, Baylor Shanks, Sadie Oliver, Sutton Oliver, and Knight Wells. She is also survived by her siblings Murel Bivins, Eula Smith, Anna Petrakovitz, Janice Pate, Gary Gates, Darrell Gates, Mary Turpin, and Tim Gates, along with a host of nieces and nephews. A celebration of Jean’s life will be held at 1:00 p.m. (CST) on Monday, October 27, 2025, at Barnett Strother Funeral Home, 2285 N. Main St., Madisonville, KY, with Rev. Heath Ferguson and Rev. Brandon Shanks officiating and burial to follow at Westlawn Cemetery in Hanson. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until the service hour at the funeral home.
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