Dorothy Ann Riley, age 97, a resident of Lake Tapawingo, Missouri, passed away on Thursday, August 28, 2024, at St. Luke’s Hospice House, Kansas City, Missouri, with her daughter by her side.
Dorothy was born to William Thomas and Della Lee (Tipton) Reilly on November 2, 1926, in Chillicothe, Missouri. She attended St. Columban’s School and graduated from St. Joseph Academy in 1945. Dorothy was one of the first to enlist in the Chillicothe “flight” of the Civil Air Patrol in 1948. On August 31, 1950, she married Raymond Clinton Riley at St. Columban’s Catholic Church in Chillicothe, Missouri. Dorothy worked at a local bank and the Livingston County Courthouse. She spent the early years of her marriage as a homemaker and mother to her children: Bill, Mary Ann, and Steve. She was an active member of the St. Ann’s Altar Society, a Boy Scout Den Mother, and helped with the PTA and CYO at Bishop Hogan Memorial Grade School and St. Joseph’s Academy.
After her children were grown, Dorothy enjoyed working at Carlin Drug Store, Montgomery Wards, Indian Hills Nursing Home, and Home Health, and served as a house mother for a sorority at the University of Missouri. Her hobbies included playing card games, taking photos of clouds and sunsets, fishing, playing computer games, and keeping up with friends and family on social media. Dorothy had a strong Catholic faith and loved her family, friends, and all things Irish. She loved to travel and, in 2017, went to Ireland. At the age of 90, she climbed the 125 narrow, winding steps of Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone.
Survivors include two sons, William E. Riley and his wife, Debbie, of Shelton, Washington, Stephen F. Riley and his wife, Dona, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; and one daughter, Mary Ann Rivera and her husband, Ron, of Lake Tapawingo, Missouri. Dorothy is also survived by five grandchildren: Jared Anderson and his wife, Laura, James “Chip” Anderson and his wife, Heather Jo, Melissa Johnson and her husband, Chad, Justin Riley and his wife, Trina, and Brett Riley and his fiancée, Jess. She has six great-grandchildren: Alex Anderson, Riley Strahm and her husband, Tyler, Ben Anderson, Peyton Anderson, Silas Anderson, Sam Cosentino, Bennett Cosentino, Anthony Riley, Bradley Riley, Tyler Gray, and Kylin Riley; and four great-great-grandchildren: Tatum, Aspen, and Jett Strahm, and Wrenley Anderson.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, William T. and Della Lee Reilly; her husband, Raymond C. Riley; her siblings, Francis Reilly, Mary Louise Reilly, Margaret Reilly Florence, Rosemary Reilly Gilliam, and Helen Reilly O’Hara; and her grandson, Benjamin Riley Anderson.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Columban Catholic Church, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. A Parish Rosary will be held at St. Columban Catholic Church, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 10:40 a.m. A scheduled visitation will be held at St. Columban Catholic Church, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. until 10:40 a.m. Friends may call at Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Monday, September 9, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Burial will follow at St. Columban Catholic Cemetery, Chillicothe, Missouri. Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Columban Catholic Cemetery and/or St. Luke’s Hospice and may be left at or mailed to Lindley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 47, Chillicothe, Missouri 64601.
