Memorial Tribute to CB Richardson

 Dear Friends and Supporters of Christian Relief Services,

It is with great sadness to report the passing of Clyde “C.B.” Richardson on November 6, 2021, our friend and member of the Christian Relief Services Board of Directors for more than 32 years who served as Treasurer for most of those years. Remarkably board records indicate he was not in attendance for just three of the annual quarterly meetings during all that time!

C.B. as he as known by all who knew him, was my father’s and mother’s longest and dearest friend for my entire life, and before. My dad, Gene Krizek, founder of Christian Relief Services, and mother, Addy, who served beside them on the Christian Relief Services Board of Directors for many years, all worked together with a single purpose – to make the world a better place for the less fortunate whether it was on the reservations in Indian Country, rural, remote villages in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, or in distressed communities throughout Appalachia.

To know C.B. was to know what giving and kindness towards others is all about.

He was an unstoppable force for making the world a better place, not just as a volunteer on our board, but for so many charities like Africare, Inc., Friendship House in D.C., and the Ward Five Council on Education, to name just a few private organizations he helped during his life, including a long career of public service with the U.S. Department of Labor.

C.B. loved to travel, which took him around the globe, including every African country “but two,” he once told me. 

He was looking to get back to international travel and talked about returning to Africa in the coming year as well as to help his high school alma mater, the Henderson Institute, now a historical museum of a segregated black high school in North Carolina. 

At 88 years old, he did not see his “work” ending any time soon. 

Our prayers are with his belove wife, Loretta, and everyone who was fortunate enough to meet and know C.B. as well as those untold thousands around the world who benefited from his kind and loving heart for all.

Bryan Krizek

President/CEO, Christian Relief Services