Ma Randa Michelle Richey, born March 4, 1977. Her parent La Wanda Burton, knew she was a light in this world from the moment she arrived. Her mother always said she was the sweetest child — gentle, loving, and full of a kindness that only grew stronger with time. She had two other siblings, Re Nesha Rigmaiden and Garrett Wayman Burton lll (deceased).

She attended Kirkwood High School, and after experiencing the heartbreak of a miscarriage, she was blessed with her firstborn, Marquis Terry. Becoming a mother awakened something powerful in her. She poured her whole heart into her children and treated everyone she met with the same tenderness. To know Ma Randa was to feel cared for.

Her compassion led her to become a CNA, where she spent much of her life caring for others. She had a gift — a way of tending to the elderly with patience, dignity, and love that couldn’t be taught. She didn’t just do her job; she made people feel seen, valued, and safe. Helping others wasn’t just her work, it was her calling.

Ma Randa went on to have five more beautiful children, each one adding to the joy and purpose she carried. Her youngest, born in 2010, was her unique blessing — a reminder of the strength and resilience she held within her.

She was a woman of deep faith, believing in God with a devotion that was impossible to fully comprehend. Her belief carried her through every hardship and lifted her in every moment of joy. She worked tirelessly until her body could no longer keep up with her spirit. As a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, and grandmother, she was truly one of a kind — the kind of woman people feel grateful to have known.

Ma Randa is survived by her six children and one grandchild, mother and sister: Marquis Terry of Saint Louis; Marquisha Terry of Saint Louis; Marissa Cooper of Saint Louis; Teon Cooper of Saint Louis; Jeremiah Cooper of Saint Louis; Unique Cooper of Irving; and her grandbaby, Jaytaj Ziris Cooper of Saint Louis; La Wanda Burton of Saint Louis; Re nesha Rigmaiden of Saint Louis. Her love lives on in each of them.