Obituary of Richard B. Riley

Richard Riley was born January 3, 1942, to Russel Ralston Riley and Gertrude Alethea Bird Riley in Keokuk, IA. He died July 19, 2019. He spent his childhood in Keokuk, graduating from Keokuk High School in 1960. His undergraduate and graduate degrees were conferred by the University of Iowa, Iowa City. Majoring in history, he earned his B. A. in 1964, his M.A. in 1966. From 1964-66, Dick taught high school history and coached boys' basketball and boys' tennis teams in Bettendorf, IA. He married Carolyn Smith July 9, 1966, in Sioux Falls, SD. He earned his J.D. from the U of Iowa law school in 1969.

Upon receiving his law degree, Dick accepted a position with the office of the Minnesota Attorney General in St. Paul, and he and his wife moved to the Twin Cities where he specialized in real estate law. Subsequent legal positions included the Department of Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D.) and in-house counsel for Northland Mortgage. A career shift to commercial mortgage banking led him to employment with Dougherty, Dawkins, Strand & Yost, Inc.; Eberhardt Company; Northco; Collateral Real Estate Capital; and Grandbridge Real Estate Capital. He retired December 2017.

Dick was a lifelong tennis player. He won the Iowa State H. S. Doubles Championship in 1960 and played 4 years of varsity tennis at the University of Iowa. He retained ties with his U of Iowa tennis teammates, his Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers, and his law school classmates, returning each year to Iowa City for football and basketball games and reunions. Through much of his adult life, he competed in club and sanctioned tennis events, and in 1980 he spearheaded the formation of the first United States Tennis Association (USTA) League teams in the USTA Northern Section. In 1979 he won the Junior Veterans (35) Mixed Doubles title in the National Public Parks Championships. He was a life member of the USTA and volunteered for more than 40 yearsboth in the Northern Section as board member and president and at the national level, serving on multiple national committees. He was also a board member of St. Paul Urban Tennis (SPUT) and a member of the University of MN Baseline Club which supports the U of M men's tennis team. As an avid sports fan, he loved encouraging and cheering on both his daughter Kate (basketball) and son Scott (tennis) as they won state championships in the Minnesota State H. S. League in 1988 and 1992. In 1995 he and his family were named the national USTA Family of the Year for their volunteer service to tennis. In 2009, he was inducted into the USTA Northern Tennis Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his daughter Kate (Tom) Smith, Winnetka, IL; son Scott (Elizabeth) Riley, Minnetonka, MN; grandchildren Alison and Patrick Smith, Brennan and Rhys Riley; former wife Carolyn Riley, Minnetonka, MN; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Becky & Ben Field, Long Lake, MN; Cindy & Bob McNeill, Deadwood, SD; Leesa & Lonnie Haugland, Spearfish, SD; and many dear nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his mother in 2000 and his father in 1987.

Dick's family invites friends to join them to celebrate his life on Saturday, August 10, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at The Marsh, 15000 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345.

Memorials may be directed to: St. Paul Urban Tennis (SPUT), 1675 5th St. E., St. Paul, MN 55106 or to the donor's choice.