Ardys Richards

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Ardys Brevig Richards was born in southeastern MN, the last of seven siblings. She was raised on the family dairy farm in the beautiful Driftless Area. Ardys was one of the final eleven students to attend a one-room country schoolhouse, the last of its kind operating in the state. She played drums in country/rock 'n roll/old-time music bands throughout her undergraduate years at UW–La Crosse in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

After graduating with a Masters of Social Work from Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey in 1982, she returned to the Midwest. In addition to a professional career, she enjoyed performing in musicals at Ye Olde Opera House in her hometown of Spring Grove, Minnesota.

Ardys worked professionally for thirty-two years, first as a licensed mental health therapist in Decorah, IA and Mankato, MN. She was a Juvenile Court Initake in Menomonie, WI and fiinally, a medical social worker in St Paul and Duluth, MN. Much of her life's work was devoted to the families of children and adults with congenital disabilities, acquired brain injuries,and other neurological disorders.

With her husband and crew, Ardys raced sailboats on Lake Superior for thirteen years before early retirement in 2015. The couple then moved aboard their 43' sailboat, "Northern Star," to sail the East Coast of the U.S. and the Caribbean. They returned to land life in late 2019. The couple has four adult children between them. They now make their home in Memphis, Tennessee where they are kept in line by a Border Collie named Chet.