1944 – 2003

BOSTON, Mass. – William H. Riley, Jr, 58, a resident of Livermore, died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003, at Mass General Hospital, where he had been a patient for seven weeks.

Born in Livermore Falls, Dec. 31, 1944, the son of William H., Sr. and Rose Alma Tousignant Riley, he was a 1963 graduate of Livermore Falls High School.

He furthered his education at the University of Maine at Farmington, earning his bachelor’s degree in education in 1970 and his master’s degree in English literature in 1973 from the Bread Loaf School of English.

On May 8, 1965, he married Michelle Gallant of Livermore Falls. They made their home in Jay for many years, moving to Livermore in 1998.

Mr. Riley was a teacher at Jay High School from 1970 to 1984 and also served as principal from 1985 to 1999. He coached the Jay High School basketball team, where they were state champs in 1978, with a conference record of 20-0 season. In 1980, the Jay High Breezes yearbook was dedicated to Mr. Riley. He also earned the distinguished honor of Coach of the Year in 1981.

Bill was a member of the Maine Teachers Association and the Maine Principal’s Association as Basketball Committee chair and Interscholastic Executive Committee chair. He enjoyed fishing, golfing, reading, classic autos and especially spending time with his grandsons.

Survivors include his wife of Livermore; his parents of Livermore; two sons and their wives, Shawn and Tina Riley of Jay and Kirk and Deb Riley of LaFayette, Ind.; a sister, Maureen Hamblin and her husband, Steve of Jay; and two grandsons, Bryan and Shane Riley.


Share your condolences, kind words and remembrances below. You must be logged into the website to comment. Subscribers, please login. Not a subscriber? Register to comment for free or subscribe to support our work.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.