Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name (as recorded) | Alberta R. Richie |
| Alternate/related names | Alberta R. Foster / Alberta Robinson Richie |
| Birth date | January 27, 1917 |
| Death date | January 15, 2001 (aged 83) |
| Associated place | Tuskegee area (appears in local records) |
| Occupation | Teacher — records also reference roles akin to school leadership |
| Spouse / Partner | Lionel Brockman Richie Sr. |
| Children | Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (b. June 20, 1949), Deborah (listed in family records) |
| Grandchildren / great-grandchildren (selected) | Includes public figures in the Richie family line such as Nicole Richie and later-generation children like Sparrow Madden |
| Net worth | No reliable public record / not publicly reported |
I fell into this story the way you fall into an old record crate at a yard sale — by accident, fingers finding the edges of a life, the scratchy silhouette of a song you half-remember. Alberta R. Richie lives in that space: not a headline act, but the quiet composition underneath the melody everyone knows. In the course of knitting together family traces, dates and one-line entries, a portrait forms — a teacher, a mother, a steady axis for a family that would later occupy center stage in pop culture.
Life and Dates that Matter
There’s something cinematic about a lifetime measured in the kinds of numbers researchers and genealogists love — birth and death dates, the neat arithmetic of years. Alberta’s life spans from 1917 to 2001, a stretch of 83 years that crosses the Great Depression, World War II, the civil rights era, the rise of Motown, and the MTV decade. Those decades shaped the world around her and the household where a young Lionel Richie would find his voice. To me, those numbers read like beats in a score: 1917 — opening motif; 1949 — a new theme with the birth of Lionel; 2001 — the final cadence.
Family Tree — introductions at a glance
I like lists because they make things intimate and documentary at once — a roll call of people who shaped a life.
| Name | Relationship to Alberta | Quick intro |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Mary Brown | Mother | The earlier generation in the family narrative — presence implied in family records. |
| Albert Davidson Foster | Father | Recorded as Alberta’s father in genealogical listings. |
| Lionel Brockman Richie Sr. | Spouse / partner | The family’s elder patriarch, partner through decades of home life. |
| Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (b. June 20, 1949) | Son | The best-known branch of Alberta’s family — Lionel, the singer-songwriter whose career brought public attention to the family. |
| Deborah Richie | Daughter | Listed in family entries; kept much of her life private in public records. |
| Nicole Richie (and others) | Grandchildren | Public-facing figures in fashion and entertainment; their presence carries Alberta’s lineage into contemporary pop culture. |
| Sparrow Madden | Great-grandchild | Part of the next generation — a living link between Alberta’s era and ours. |
When you place names like these on a single page you see more than relationships; you see legacy. I imagine Alberta — lesson plans tucked under one arm, a kitchen table that doubles as a rehearsal space, a voice that steadies the family when tour schedules or tabloid cameras arrive months or decades later.
Career and Public Role — teacher, community anchor
Records describe Alberta as a teacher, and some entries suggest roles akin to school leadership. That detail, small and exact, is my favorite kind of evidence: not flashy, but foundational. Teachers don’t just deliver lessons — they organize possibility. If you’ve ever watched a future artist rehearse at home, you know how a parent-teacher’s patience can incubate a performer’s first lines: correcting rhythm, coaxing breath control, insisting on practice while the rest of the neighborhood sleeps. In that sense, Alberta’s listed occupation reads as part biography, part origin story for the musical branches that followed.
Numbers again: a classroom borne of the 1930s–1960s context would have looked very different from today — fewer resources, louder demands, deeper community ties. That kind of environment requires a particular kind of grit; Alberta’s recorded role suggests she possessed it.
The Spotlight and the Quiet Rooms — legacy through famous kin
It’s impossible to tell anything about Alberta’s public footprint without acknowledging the gravity of her son Lionel’s career. Lionel Richie’s rise — the records, the recordings, the songs you can’t escape at weddings — means that Alberta appears in biographies and family sketches in service of a larger story. But even with a famous son, Alberta herself never splashed across the glossy pages; she remains, in public accounts, a steady domestic and educational presence — the roots rather than the fireworks.
Her grandchildren — some of them public figures in television, fashion, and music — carry forward this genealogy in the spotlight. That generates curious headlines, reality-TV mentions, fashion-show bylines, and, yes, social-media threads that loop back to the family’s origins. I like to imagine Alberta as the quiet editor behind the scenes, the one who taught the importance of a good line and the discipline to deliver it.
Numbers & small certainties
- Years lived: 83 years (1917–2001).
- Notable family birthdate: Lionel B. Richie Jr. — June 20, 1949.
- Career tag: Teacher / school leadership noted in records.
- Public financial record: none — net worth not publicly listed.
These are the facts that sit comfortably in the middle of a narrative that is otherwise stitched with memory and inference — factual anchors in a sea of anecdote.
FAQ
Who was Alberta R. Richie?
Alberta R. Richie was a teacher and matriarch whose recorded life spans from January 27, 1917 to January 15, 2001, known primarily through family records and as the mother of Lionel Richie.
What were her main occupations?
Public records describe her as a teacher, with some entries suggesting roles similar to school leadership — a quiet public service rather than celebrity.
Who are her immediate family members?
Her spouse/partner is recorded as Lionel Brockman Richie Sr.; children include Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) and Deborah Richie, and she is grandmother to members of the Richie family who entered public life.
Is Alberta related to Nicole Richie?
Yes — Alberta is in the same extended family line that includes Nicole Richie as a granddaughter, which places Alberta as a grandmother figure in that branch.
Are there public records of her net worth?
No — there are no reliable public records or verified estimates reporting Alberta R. Richie’s net worth.
What is her legacy today?
Her legacy lives through her descendants and the small, steady civic work recorded in her role as an educator — the kind of legacy that shapes lives quietly, then reappears in headlines decades later.
