Martha Anna Riley

Martha Anna (Thomas) Riley was born on May 21, 1932 in Sharon, Pennsylvania to (Vesta) Lucille (Randall) Thomas and Ralph J. Thomas. Martha was called to missionary service at an early age and spent her life purposefully fulfilling that call. She was a 1950 graduate of Jamestown High School in Pennsylvania and worked to pay for her college education. She earned a BA from Vennard College, teaching credential from Greenville College and an RN from Meadville City Hospital School of Nursing. She married Paul M. Riley in June of 1961. Dr. Paul and Martha were missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene in Swaziland, southern Africa from 1968 to 1982. In 1982, they moved to Riverside, California. Martha was assistant pastor at the Church of the Nazarene in Fontana. On November 28, 2018, age 86, God called her home. The family is grateful for the wonderful care she received at Gold Living Home Care where she spent her final three months of life.

Martha was preceded in death by her parents and her three sisters, Jean Sperry, Ruth Sperry and Esther Weygandt. She is survived by her husband, Paul, three daughters: Leora (Terrell) Smith, Lorraine (James) Hazel, Cindy Hagan; nine grandchildren: Amanda Smith, Samantha Wilkins, Dillon Smith, Elizabeth Smith, Ashley Hazel, Sierra Hazel, Marshall Hagan, Wyatt Hagan, and Reece Hagan; and three great-granddaughters: Holly Wilkins, Kora Kaul and Lawson Smith and the last of her cousins, Bill Thomas.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 8, 2018 at 2:00 pm at Arlington Avenue Church of the Nazarene, 5475 Arlington Ave., Riverside, CA, 92504. Interment will be in January at the Riverside National Cemetery.

The family suggests donations to the Alzheimer’s Foundation for research, https://alzfdn.org/.