Floyd “Rod” Riley

Floyd “Rod” Riley was born in Colorado to Helen and Clarence Riley. He was the sixth of seven children. Rod was especially close to his brother Gil who was 18 months older. The family moved to Kansas and grew up poor on a small farm. Rod always had fond memories of staying out all day roaming free in the cornfields with his brothers and helping their mom take care of the animals. When his oldest brother Ray came home and spoke about his adventures overseas in the Navy, Rod and his brother Gil were eager to enlist. Rod had to ask his mom for permission since he was only 17. He married at age 19 and he and his wife lived in Japan for 4 years. He was very proud that the last ship he served on was the U.S.S. Midway before he was honorably discharged in 1959. Rod worked hard and was very successful in the construction industry. He began his career in the 1960s supporting his young family with wife Mary and 2 children, Jeff and Cindy. He started his own business in the 1970s and always had fond memories of when he was a pilot flying his own Beechcraft Bonanza airplane to jobsites. His wife of 20 years passed away in 1977. Rod and Anne met in 1978 and married later that year. The blended family grew over the years. In addition to Rods children and Annes daughter Michelle, Kaci and Jessica were added to the family in 1988. During that time, the family resided in Irvine where they happily lived for 9 years. The family then moved to Riverside in 1992 and finally to Corona in 2003. Rod was very proud of all his kids and grandkids, Breanna, Ben, Lucas, Ty, Tanner, Jordan, Jessica, Matthew and Celeste. Rod was a humble down to earth kind of guy and always considered himself simply as a “country boy”. He loved country music artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss and Tony Rice. He loved camping in Joshua Tree with family and enjoyed playing guitar especially with his brother-in-law Brian and his son Jeff. He retired in 2009 and enjoyed history books and documentaries. He was very knowledgeable on the Civil War and that era. He enjoyed gardening, playing the guitar and visiting with family and friendsand for two years he enjoyed making Annes lunch for work every single dayRod and Anne were married for 37 years. Visitation St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church 951-277-1801 | Monday 11/16, 10:15 am - 11:15 am Service St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church 951-277-1801 | Monday 11/16, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Cemetery Riverside National Cemetery Staging Area #4 Monday 11/16, 2:00 pm