John Michael Riley Sr.

John M. (Mike) Riley, Sr., 91, of Conyers, GA, passed away on September 23, 2018 at Emory Hospital Hillandale. Mr. Riley’s wishes were for family and friends to celebrate his life with a memorial gathering on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at Horis A. Ward Funeral Home Fairview Chapel, 376 Fairview Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281. The family will receive guests at an informal reception between 1:00 PM and 2:45 PM followed by the memorial celebration from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Born in Atlanta, GA on January 11, 1927, he was the second of four children. The survivor of a twin birth, he grew up in Grant Park. The death of his father in 1931 left his mother to struggle raising four children during the depression years.

At age 8 he got an Atlanta Constitution newspaper route with the help of a family friend who worked at the paper. Not having a bicycle, he serviced his route on roller skates and had numerous colorful stories about the characters and events he experienced.

As the financial situation worsened for the family, an aunt and uncle offered to have him come live with them in Miami, FL. His time in Miami was one of his fondest and vivid childhood memories. He especially enjoyed fishing off the piers, where “you could catch just about anything that swam in the ocean” and eating oranges and mangos he picked from the trees in the back yard.

Returning to Atlanta in 1942, he attended high school through the 11th grade, leaving school to help his mother, younger brother and sister following his older brother’s enlistment into the Army during WWII. In October 1946 he enlisted in the Army and served briefly until being honorably discharged in February 1947. When he returned from the service he lived for a brief period in the downtown Atlanta YMCA before moving in with a friend and working at his older brother’s service station in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta.

In February of 1948 he met the love of his life, Helen Elizabeth Pace. They were married at Martha Brown Methodist Church in East Atlanta in May 1948. Mr. Riley worked in the auto parts and industrial engine business from 1948-1992, opening his own company, Riley’s Engines and Parts, Inc., in 1962. His son Ron joined the business in 1971 and remained with the company until it closed in 1992. A loving and devoted husband and father, family was always at the forefront of all that he accomplished and worked for. He had a big heart and empathy for those less fortunate. Christmas was his favorite holiday and he always waited until Christmas Eve to do his shopping where he enjoyed “watching all the people and hustle and bustle.” He was a storyteller extraordinaire, had a great sense of humor and was a practical joker. He believed in honesty, hard work, self-reliance and loved his country passionately.

Mr. Riley was preceded in death by his loving wife of 53 years, Helen E. (Pace) Riley of Conyers; son, Ronald C. Riley of Newborn; father, Eugene B. Riley, Sr.; mother, Sadie (Guthus) Riley, Smith, of Atlanta, GA; brothers, Eugene “Gene” B. Riley, Jr. of Atlanta, GA and Charles “Chuck” S. Riley of Conyers, GA. Survivors are his son and daughter-in-law, John M. Riley, Jr. and Barbara Saunders of Clarkston, GA; daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer (Riley) Van Vickle and James Van Vickle of Caryville, TN; grandson, Connor Van Vickle of Maryville, TN; sweetheart, companion and long-time family friend Agnes Side of Jefferson, GA; and sister, Mary Catherine Alley, of Lawrenceville, GA. His good heart and soul will be missed by all that loved and knew him.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial donations be made to American Kidney Fund online at www.kidneyfund.org., by phone: 800-636-8299 or by mail: American Kidney Fund, 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852.