Senator Tom Riley View All Years

TOM RILEY

Tom Riley was born on January 9, 1929, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Joseph W. and Edna Kyle Riley. He passed away on July 21, 2011, at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; six children, Pam, and her husband, Mark; Peter, and his wife, Joan; Lisa, and her husband, Greg; Martha, and her husband, Harold; Sara; and Heather and her husband, Steve; and fourteen grandchildren, Robert, William, Megan, Parker, Tyler, Caitlin, Jonathan, Hannah, Patrick, Ryan, Molly, Tom, Joey, and Jack.

Riley graduated from Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1946. He went on to the University of Iowa, where he earned a B.A. in 1950 and graduated from Law School in 1952.

He married Nancy Evans in 1952 while at the University of Iowa.

Following law school, he was commissioned a First Lieutenant and was a member of the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. After his discharge from active duty, he returned to Cedar Rapids and joined the law firm of Simmons, Perrine, Albright, Ellwood, and Neff, becoming a partner in 1960.

Riley was a State Representative for four years and a Senator for eight years. At the end of his first term in the House of Representatives, he was named Outstanding Freshman Legislator by the Iowa Press and Radio Club. He sponsored many important bills including equal representation in state reapportionment, fair housing, and a bill to outlaw discrimination in employment due to age, race, religion, or national origin. He was chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Aging, chairman of the Governor’s United Nations Day Committee, and a member of the State Commission on Aging.

In 1980 he established the Tom Riley Law Firm with his son, Peter. He was known for “helping the underdogs hold the powerful accountable”. He wrote four books and many articles on law and politics.

He was active in many organizations. He served as a delegate and co-sponsor of the Fourth World Conference on World Peace through Law in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1969; as a fellow in the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers; and as president of the Linn County Mental Health Association. He was member of the First Presbyterian Church, the Masons, the Shrine, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, the board of Linn County Association for Retarded Children, and the Area Council of Boy Scouts of America.

Riley was a Linn County Republican. He served in the Iowa House of Representatives during the 59th and 60th General Assemblies. He served in the Iowa Senate during the 61st, 62nd, 64th, and 65th General Assemblies.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE EIGHTY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF IOWA: That in the passing of the Honorable Tom Riley, the State has lost an honored citizen and faithful and useful public servant, and that the Senate by this resolution expresses its appreciation of his service to the State and tenders its sympathy and kindest regards to the members of his family.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That a copy of this resolution be spread upon the Journal of the Senate and that the Secretary of the Senate be instructed to forward an enrolled copy to the family of the deceased.

SANDRA H. GREINER

WALLY E. HORN

TIM L. KAPUCIAN

Committee