Betty Richardson of Edwardsville, IL, professor emeritus of English at Southern Illinois University, died on Friday, August 21st, 2026 at Stillwater Senior Living Center in Edwardsville. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 14th, 1935, she was the daughter of Robert F. and Dora Freiberg Ritchie. She received her B.A. from the University of Louisville in 1957, and worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, under the name Betty Crain, at the Springfield (Ohio) Daily News and Sun before entering graduate school. She received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1963 and 1968. She began teaching at SIUE in fall, 1968, and taught there until her retirement in 2002.

A specialist in Victorian and early modern literature and social history, in women's literature, and in crime and detective fiction, she published three books and more than a hundred articles, reviews, and review essays on a variety of subjects. Besides terms as chairman of the SIUE Department of Literature and as a Director of Graduate Studies for the department, she served on a number of campus committees.

She is survived by one son, Victor Crain, of New Jersey, and by two grandchildren. Herr Funeral Home in Collinsville, IL, is in charge of cremation. Burial will be in Sunset Hills Memorial Estate in Glen Carbon, IL. There will be no services. Memorial contributions may be made to the Metro East Humane Society in Edwardsville, IL, the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah, or Adopt-A-Pet in Benld, IL.