Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/106082
To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected The Life and Legacy of Xavier Richardson by chris jones D ressed in a neatly pressed white shirt accented by a red polka dot bow tie, burgundy shoes and black, cuffed pin striped slacks, Xavier Richardson is one of the most recognized and respected figures in Fredericksburg. And while he holds the well-deserved and prestigious titles of executive vice president for Corporate Development and Community Affairs for Mary Washington Healthcare and President of Mary Washington Hospital and Stafford Hospital Foundations, Richardson has the demeanor and approachability that causes him to feel like a lifelong friend as opposed to a high powered executive. While he has been the "father" of hundreds of area youths, he unequivocally considers his greatest investment, joy and accomplishment his three adult children and new 9-week-old granddaughter. I sat down with Richardson. He spoke on his roots in Fredericksburg, the promise he made to God that defined his destiny and the city's past and future. Fredericksburg Parent: Where did you grow up in Fredericksburg and what was life like in this community back then? Xavier Richardson: I was born and raised here in Mayfield. I attended Walker-Grant Elementary, an all-black school at the time since schools were segregated. I attended Maury School in 1968, the first year of it being integrated. I graduated from James Monroe High School in 1975. FP: You mentioned growing up during segregation. What was that like? XR: This area wasn't so racially divided. The wonderful thing about going to Walker-Grant was that what we lacked in facilities, we had in support. [Even though] we didn't have the facilities or equipment, we had teachers who were committed to every student's success. When we integrated, we lost some of that 12 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2013 (caring teachers). In spite of it all, Walker-Grant produced some great leaders: doctors, dentists, lawyers, a judge and two other Harvard Business School graduates. There was greater sense of community back then. [Mayfield] was a heterogeneous neighborhood. We had doctors, lawyers, teachers, laborers and people with poverty all living side by side. We had a lot of support in the community. Even though my parents didn't go to college, my neighbors took us on college trips. All of the kids had an opportunity to grow in Mayfield. The neighborhood has changed since then. People commute to work now and you don't have the life-lasting relationships that were once there, but there still is a sense of pride there, and there are things we had and new things that we didn't have and a lot of great people still live there. My father grew up on the 200-300 block of Princess Anne Street. It was integrated. He lived next to white families and after the kids would play together, they went to school in different directions the next day. FP: After graduating, where did you go next? XR: I left [Fredericksburg] when I was 18 for 13 years. I went north to Princeton University to do my undergraduate work. I went to New York to work for two years and then went on a deferred admission to Harvard Business School where I earned my MBA. I worked on Wall Street [after graduating Harvard].