David John Riley, of Park Ridge, NJ, passed away on April 17, 2023, at the age of 83.
Born on July 12, 1939, in Morecambe, England to Thomas Frank and Kathleen Mary (Armstrong) Riley.
He was educated on the HMS Conway with the British Merchant Navy, graduating in 1956. Upon graduation, Mr. Riley served an apprenticeship with the New Zealand Shipping Company.
Mr. Riley lived in Bergen County for the past 42 years. Before that he resided in Marlow, England from 1969 to 1981 when he and his family moved to Montvale, NJ.
He was the National Retail Manager for BMW North America in Woodcliff Lake, NJ and facilitated the launch of the Mini Cooper in the US. He was with the company for 22 years before retiring in 2004.
Locally, he was a longtime parishioner of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Montvale, NJ serving on the vestry, as an usher, and as a member of the Men’s Club supporting the Paterson Men’s Shelter. Most recently, he attended services virtually at Church of the Holy Spirit, Verona, NJ. He was also an active volunteer at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum in Manteo, NC and a member of the Conway Club.
Mr. Riley is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Janet, his son Martin (Diane) of Langhorne, PA, and his 3 daughters, Joanne of Park Ridge, NJ, Danielle (Ronald) of Verona, NJ and Nicolette of Congers, NY, and his sister, Christine (Denis) of Summer Hill, NSW, Australia. He also leaves behind his 13 grandchildren, Alex (Karissa), Tyler, Kyle, Jaime, Jake, Matthew, Corey, Samantha, Emily, Zachary, Kelsey, Riley and Henrietta. He will be deeply missed.
He will be remembered for his quick-witted sense of humor, good nature, loyalty to his family, and his dedication to the causes he was involved in, most recently raising over $30K towards ALS research under his team, the Commodore’s Crew. He loved traveling the world with his wife, sailing, fishing, listening to Jimmy Buffett and spending time with family.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ALS Association Greater New York Chapter: http://secure.als-ny.org/goto/IMODavidRiley.
A funeral service will be held at Church of the Holy Spirit, Verona, NJ on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 11am. A private burial will follow.
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