Obituary

John Junior Riley was born January 11, 1937 in Jefferson County, Iowa. He was the son of John Wilbur and Mary Frances (nee Messer) Riley. He graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School. On May 29, 1960, he was united in marriage to Mary Irene Sutton at the First Methodist Church in Maquoketa, IA. They are the parents of two sons, Keith D. Riley of Denver, CO and Dale E. (Jayne) Riley of Brazil, IN.

John was veteran of the United States Army. He was inducted on March 12, 1957 at Ft. Des Moines, IA. He was a combat Engineer with Company C of the 317th Engineering Battalion, serving 1 ½ years in Germany. He was honorable discharged on March 7, 1959 at Ft. Sheridan, IL and transferred to the US Army Reserves.

John was the general manger of the Spahn & Rose Lumber Company and Ready Mix plant of 6 ½ years in Maxwell, IA and was the Treasurer of the Maxwell Lion’s Club for 4 years.
In 1967, John formed the John J. Riley Construction Company which he owned and operated for 17 years. He later worked for Midwest Old Threshers, working with Lennis Moore to construct many of the exhibits on the Old Threshers grounds.

John was also a licensed real estate agent with the Iris Realty Company of Mt. Pleasant. He served as the Chairman of the Board of the Southeast Iowa Board of Realtors for two years and as President of MCSWIDER, which was organized to assist the building trades class at Mt Pleasant Community High School. John and his wife, Mary, were also the owners of the Henry County Abstract Company.

John enjoyed antiques and served on the Board of Directors of the Southeast Iowa Antique Car Club for four years. The family enjoyed many camping trips across the United States. John then became a world traveler, visiting Europe, Israel, Egypt, Greece, South America, Mexico, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. John Enjoyed Golf and NASCAR, attending races at many of the race tracks. He enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his great grandchildren.

John is survived by his wife, Mary of Mt. Pleasant; his two sons, Keith and Dale; his sister, Mary Ellen Ruschill of Mt. Pleasant; four grandchildren, Katie, Beth, Lynn and Matthew; two step grandchildren, Ethan and Courtney and four great grandchildren, Patrick, Ayla, Gabriel and Donovan. He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Kenneth.

Burial:
Forest Home Cemetery
Mount Pleasant
Henry County
Iowa, USA