Throwback Thursday: Amy Richards

Amy Richards had a passion for music. It was in her blood. Her grandfather was a talented musician and her father, a native of England, told tall tales of reducing Queen Victoria to tears with his solos on the English stage. Amy’s career began at 17, teaching piano and voice between terms at Upper Iowa University. As a young woman, she was organist at Illyria Church, while offering lessons from her parents’ farmhouse across the street.

In 1912, the family moved to West Union and Amy set up her studio in the house at 103 South Vine Street. Her pupils were all ages, from children to housewives. She taught three generations of some families, leaving her home cluttered with photos, letters, and mementos from “her kids.” She taught her niece, and later three great-nieces, who would listen to Amy’s mother, their great-grandmother, tell stories of hoop skirts and covered wagons while waiting for their turn with Aunt Amy.

Families packed her parlor for recitals, with folding chairs crammed into every space and parents crowded on the front porch. Her dedication was unwavering. In 1968, at the age of 87, she was hospitalized after a fall in her home. As soon as she was well, she was back at the piano. “I couldn’t go on teaching if it weren’t for the kids,” she once said. “I’m full of humor and they amuse me so.”

She retired at age 88 and moved to a nursing home in Oelwein, where she died November 19, 1971, age 90 – 44 years ago today.