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Community Corner

Nine Months After Tornado, Affton Woman Clings to Faith

The New Year's Eve storm destroyed her business and has left her struggling.

Sharon Richey of Affton should be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Richey's Auto, her business on Lindbergh Boulevard, but right now she isn’t celebrating much of anything.

New Year’s Eve saw to that. The tornado that , ripping apart more than 20 homes, also destroyed Richey’s Sunset Hills business.

“The day of the tornado, all morning long I had been at the shop paying bills,” she said. “I let my employees off for New Year's Eve. I was getting tired and decided to leave and go pay my Sears bill. While I was gone, the tornado struck. When I got back, I was devastated by what I saw.”

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Richey said she feels like she lost everything that day, and now she fears she’s about to lose her home as well.

“It has been very stressful to lose a business that I have had for 20 years,” said Richey. “I have lost my only source of income.”

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She wrings her hands, is noticeably nervous and cries easily. And her health is not good.

Richey has an immune deficiency disease and needs infusions that she said cost from $3,500-$10,000 depending on how sick she is at the time. She also suffers from severe asthma. Since the loss of her business, however, she has had no health insurance.

“I have been sick with my asthma, but I can’t afford to go to the hospital. So I have had to use a hair dryer set on cold to get air into my lungs,” Richey said.

Part of her stress is dealing with the paperwork involved in trying to get help.

“To see if I can qualify for any help, I’ve spent many months going through 30 to 40 boxes of papers—many boxes of papers that got wet that day,” she said. 

Richey said the building was covered by insurance, but she did not own the building. The equipment was insured and salvageable, but how could she operate her business when there was no roof on the building?

“Still to this day, customers are calling me because I had the phone number forwarded to my home phone. They want their cars repaired, but there’s no way I can do it,” Richey said.

She also said she has not received any of the Tornado Assistance Fund money that was collected after the storm.

“I would like to say for any township that is making a decision on where fundraising money goes to, please include business owners because, as you can see, without any help, business owners lives are affected just as much as the homeowners,” Rickey said.

None of her customers lost their cars when the tornado hit the business, but her brother had two cars parked there at the time. The storm lifted up one and threw it into the other. 

Before the storm, the National Association of Professional and Executive Women had been named Richey an automotive industry woman of the year. She had been involved in the Crestwood/Sunset Hills Chamber of Commerce, Rotary International and several charities.

As the owner of the auto shop, she did the books, ran after parts, shuttled customers, answered the phones and handled promotions and advertising. Now all of that is over, and each day brings new problems.

“In that tornado, I lost my business of 20 years, which my ex-husband and my son and I worked so hard for. I lost my income. I lost the ability to save my life. I lost my good credit standing that I worked so hard to get. I am losing my home and everything I have worked for my whole life,” Richey said. “I don’t know how I could handle it without the love of God, and the love and support from my son Shawn and my friends. I pray a lot, and I hope I can get some help.”

A fund has been set up at Eagle Bank to help Richey pay her medical bills and living expenses. Make checks payable to Sharon Richey Relief and mail to Sharon Richey Relief c/o Eagle Bank, 1052 S. Kirkwood Rd., Kirkwood, MO 63122.

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