A Memorial Mass for Jules W. Riley, Jr., 66, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 16, 2016, at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Devine Street. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7:00 p.m. Monday, August 15, 2016, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel.
Mr. Riley was born May 12, 1950, the son of the late Jules Williams Riley, Sr. and Jean Harvey Riley of Columbia. He passed away Wednesday, August 10, 2016, surrounded by his family following an illness.
Mr. Riley was a graduate of The Citadel, Class of 72. His professional career included national work to prevent child abuse and neglect for the American Humane Association, Denver; and serving as executive director of S.C. Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, the development director for Easter Seals of S.C., and numerous state and local boards and committees. In recognition of these efforts, he was inducted into the Arland D. Williams Society for Outstanding Community Service, an honorary society of The Citadel, which recognizes exemplary professional and volunteer services by alumni.
For The Citadel, Mr. Riley chaired efforts to raise funds with his classmates for an ongoing annual scholarship for a Citadel cadet, and in 2012 for a homecoming campaign which raised substantial funds for the university.
Mr. Riley, an outdoorsman, also was a published poet and songwriter, having received several awards for his work. In recent years he was an avid participant of the Wildacres Writer’s Workshop held at Wildacres Retreat, Little Switzerland, N.C. He was active in the N.C. Writer’s Network and the N.C. Poetry Society. As a performing musician and songwriter, Mr. Riley had dozens of songs to his credit. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Surviving are his wife of 31 years, Kathleen Mary Hayes; sister, Jean Riley Ducote (Wayne) of Columbia; niece, Kristi Ducote Whiteaker (Tyger) of Rock Hill; and several cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Citadel Foundation, 171 Moultrie St., Charleston, SC 29409 or The Wildacres Foundation, PO Box 280, Little Switzerland, NC 28749.
Posted in: dignitymemorial.com
Posted on: 2016-08-15
Link to original obituary: http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Jules-Riley&lc=9817&pid=181046311&uuid=338c6189-77bd-4126-8430-a7baf945376c