FAYETTEVILLE – Rose Richardson, the wife of former Arkansas men's basketball coach Nolan Richardson, died Sunday. She was 84.

“Our family has lost our beloved Rosario,” Nolan Richardson wrote in a statement released Monday. “She was always by my side and the greatest coach I could ever be blessed with. She was always loving, supportive and loyal. She was fully committed to every task we had. Without them, none of what I have achieved would have been possible.” I could trust her with everything.

“She will truly be missed by me, as well as millions of people, simply because she was a giver. Whenever you are a giver, it comes back to you and makes you stronger. That's what Rosario did for me. I lost my best friend. I will miss her very much.

Rose and Nolan Richardson were married for more than 50 years. They met in high school in El Paso, Texas, and reunited years later when Nolan returned as a high school basketball coach in the late '60s.

Together they had a daughter, Yvonne, who died of leukemia in 1987 at the age of 15. Nolan Richardson also had three children before her marriage.

Members of the Arkansas basketball community shared memories of Rose Richardson in social media posts Monday.

“Every player who has ever worn Coach Richardson’s uniform throughout his career has been incredibly blessed to have Mrs. Rose in our lives,” wrote John Engskov, a player on the Razorbacks’ 1994 national championship team. “I am hers Eternally grateful for their care.” Kindness and their investment in so many lives!”

Clint McDaniel, starting player on the national championship team, remembered her in a Facebook post.

“Please say a prayer for Coach Richardson, who has lost his great wife and partner of 60 years,” McDaniel wrote. “We lost (our) Razorback mother.”

Matt Zimmerman, who served as a research assistant to Richardson, wrote: “Ms. Rose came from a large, proud and strong El Paso family. She sacrificed her stay there to be with Coach, and they never left Fayetteville. She was loved by so many.” Players and staff are gone but not forgotten.