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Elijah Richardson |
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July 2, 1980 ~ February 19, 2017 |
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March 2, 2017 |
Elijah Richardson, 36, beloved son of John and
Pamela Martling, unexpectedly went home to be
with Jesus on Sunday, February 19. A memorial
service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March
4, at Mountain Springs Church in Bonners Ferry.
Elijah was born on July 2, 1980, in Sandpoint to
Daniel Richardson and Cynthia Anderson. He was
born with multiple physical problems, including
Pierre Robin Syndrome and Congenital Cataracts,
and nearly did not survive his early years. With
the loving care of his parents, he made it
through those early years living near Priest
Lake.
At the age of seven, he was moved to a foster
home in Kootenai to be able to better take care
of his special needs. When Elijah was 11, it was
decided that he needed to be in a family that
could provide more attention and individualized
care for him.
This was when God gave him a pa and ma who
needed him as much as he needed them. We could
not have asked for a better son, he brought so
much joy and unconditional love to our lives.
Elijah’s life changed drastically when he
accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at
the age of 12. His life suddenly had new meaning
and purpose and he thrived! At 16, he began
working for the Forest Service on a special
youth trail crew along with his good friend and
“brother,” Michael Bjoraker, with John (Pa) as
their supervisor.
This began a long career and ministry on the YCC
trail crew working for Pat Hart.
Elijah was always a kid at heart, but when he
got into his twenties and it was clear he was no
longer a youth, Pat found other creative ways to
keep Elijah working. For the remainder of his
life, he and pa spent every summer building
trails with the YCC, 20 years in all.
During that time he impacted the lives of
countless youth with his endless good attitude,
his loving nature, and his love for God.
For the last five years, Elijah has attended
church faithfully at Mountain Springs Church,
where he is well loved and known for his
collection of tie-dyed shirts, his love of Star
Trek, Transformers, Star Wars, current political
issues and most importantly, his love and zeal
for Jesus!
Elijah is survived by his beloved parents John
and Pamela Martling (Pa and Ma); his biological
parents Cindy and Dan Richardson; sister Chelsea
Torres and grandmother Billie Collins. He is
also survived by his loving and faithful friends
Bud and Joy Sinclair, aunts Debra and Cristie
and a multitude of friends who loved him and
were touched by his life.
Elijah faithfully prayed for God to heal him of
his physical limitations and God answered his
prayer last week, he is now free.
Thank you for loving us unconditionally, we are
all better people for having known you. You will
be forever missed and in our hearts, we love you
son. |
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