Elizabeth Ann Riley's Obituary
Elizabeth Ann Riley passed away peacefully in Methuen on October 15th.
The daughter of George E. and Teresa M. (Barry) Riley was born in Lawrence on June 11th, 1942. She attended St. Laurence O’Toole, the Gilbert E. Hood and the Academy of the Assumption in Wellesley Hills, MA grammar schools. She graduated from Lawrence High School.
Elizabeth worked in a variety of secretarial, administrative and reception positions for the Lawrence Gas Company, Raytheon Corp and spent many years at Lawrence General Hospital in the Employee Health Dept. Later, she was the smiling face of Merrimack College in North Andover greeting students, parents & guests to Austin Hall for almost 25 years.
She loved to travel and took many trips with friends over the years to Europe, Africa, Hawaii, and her beloved Ireland. She spent summers at Salisbury Beach and winters skiing in the North Conway area with her life-long friends, ‘The House of Eleven’. After retiring she would spend time up & down the East Coast in Port Charlotte, FL, Avalon, NJ, and her home in Methuen.
Elizabeth / Liz / Betty Ann / Betty Boop was cheerful, caring and never forgot a card on a birthday or to celebrate a special event. She collected friends and always found someone she knew no matter where she went. Her family and her many different groups of friends from high school, the neighborhood, workplaces, and her travels were always the bright lights in her life. She loved any and all social gatherings, Irish music & shopping.
Elizabeth was predeceased by her parents and recently by her brother, Rev. George F. Riley of Villanova University, Villanova, PA.
She is survived by her brother Arthur B. & his wife Kathleen McQuade Riley of Hampstead, NH. Two nieces, Mary Ellen Everson of Salem, NH and Kathleen A. and husband Scott Petrie of Newburyport, MA and Nephew George M. & wife Susan Riley of Hampstead, NH. She is also survived by 6 great nieces & nephews, 8 great, great nieces and nephews, several cherished cousins and a vast number of faithful and loving friends.
The family would like to give a special THANK YOU! To all those who provided Elizabeth with care, comfort & companionship over the past few challenging years, in particular, her loyal friends, Visiting Angels and the caretakers at Nevins Nursing & Rehab.
Family and friends may call from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, October 25th, 2022, at the John Breen Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., 122 Amesbury St., Lawrence, MA. A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, October 26th, 2022, at St. Augustine Parish, 43 Essex Street, Andover at 10:00 A.M. Burial will follow at the St. Mary / Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Lawrence. Memorial contributions can be made in Elizabeth’s name to: The Fr. George F. Riley, OSA. Fund for Augustinian HealthCare, 214 Ashwood Rd, Villanova, PA, 19085 (www.augustinianfund.org/care). To send an online condolence or for more information, please go to www.breenfuneralhome.com.
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