Helen Ann (Coughlin) Richards, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and cherished neighbor & friend, passed away peacefully of natural causes in her Mansfield, MA home on Sunday, April 12, 2026, surrounded by family. She was 93 years old.
Helen was a true daughter of Boston and carried her city pride throughout her life. She was a 1948 graduate of Woodrow Wilson School in Dorchester. She found a love of attending museums in her younger years and began sketching and drawing as a hobby. She was also a voracious reader.
She was predeceased by her devoted husband, Arthur F. Richards, with whom she shared 29 years of marriage.
Arthur and Helen wed on June 7, 1953, in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and began their married life together on a Cape Cod honeymoon — the first of many seaside memories that shaped their story.
In 1958, Helen and Arthur purchased their home in Mansfield, where they raised their three children. Helen worked “mother’s hours” at Sweets Manufacturing, creating jewelry.
During the 1970’s Helen could be heard cheering proudly at her sons Artie & Mike’s football games at Memorial Park and watching her daughter Kathy twirling her baton in the town parades. Mike’s band practiced in the basement while friends played pool. From her kitchen window, Helen loved to watch the neighborhood kids gather in her vast backyard — The kids and their friends’ riding horses through the field, bicycles and dirt bikes zipping past in all directions. Her backyard was a playground for generations, filled with laughter, games of football and baseball, and winters when she would flood the yard so the children could ice skate. Those moments of joy were, for Helen, life’s greatest treasures.
During the 1990s, she was once again a regular at Mansfield High School, enthusiastically cheering on her granddaughter Vicki at field hockey, basketball, and softball games.
Helen was an enthusiastic Red Sox and Patriots fan. Seeing the Red Sox finally win the World Series and celebrating all the Patriots’ Super Bowl victories were true highlights of her later years. Helen was also a proud Boston College fan, especially when her grandson Drew decided to attend BC in 1999.
She believed in the healing power of a hot cup of tea. Helen treasured simple moments – enjoying walks around the neighborhood and trips to Westport with her dear friend and neighbor Barbara Maxwell. She spent countless summer days at her cousin AnnMarie’s family cottage on Lake Pearl, where she laughed freely and floated happily on her favorite tube.
Helen was predeceased by her son Michael S. Richards. She is survived by her children: Arthur F. Richards Jr. (Peg) of Mansfield, MA, and Katherine M. Pernock (Joe) of Mansfield, MA. She was a loving grandmother to Vicki Bailey (Brad) of Mansfield, MA, Drew Richards (Mary Ann) of Brooklyn, NY, and Eric Richards of Westerly, RI, and a proud great-grandmother to Cameron Bailey, Claire Richards, and Ann Richards.
Helen was admired in her neighborhood for her boundless energy and independent spirit. Well into her eighties, she insisted on mowing and raking her yard and shoveling her walkways.
A faithful supporter of local sports and community events, she especially cherished watching the Pan-Mass Challenge riders pass her street each year — greeting them loudly after she swept the pavement clear on the corner to make their journey safer.
Her favorite foods reflected her New England soul: lobster, scallops, and seafood bisque.
Helen donated her body to Harvard Medical School, hoping to advance understanding and treatment of scoliosis. A memorial celebration of her life will be announced later. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Helen’s memory to one of Helen’s favorite children’s charities - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics, and the Ronald McDonald House. Helen will be remembered for her boundless strength, resilience, contagious laughter, and fierce devotion to her family and town — a true Mansfield spirit who lived every day with love, pride, and joy.