Alvin Riley

alvin riley
Al Riley, age 90 of New Hampton, Iowa, died Wednesday, December 3, 2014, at Mercy Medical Center in New Hampton. Friends may greet the family 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Saturday, December 6, 2014 at the Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home in New Hampton where there will be a 5:00 p.m. Masonic Service. Alvin “Al” Lester Riley was born July 1, 1924, in Dunkerton, IA, the son of Alvin and Eva (Nesfield) Riley. He received his education in New Hampton, Iowa graduating from the New Hampton High School in 1943. He served with the United States Navy during WWII. On August 18, 1945, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Hampton, he married Kathleen “Katie” Kleinfehn. To this union six children were born. In 1946, he joined his father in the Riley family business located in New Hampton. He was a respected businessman who cared about his community. Al was very active in giving back to New Hampton, Chickasaw County and the state of Iowa throughout his life. He had served on the New Hampton Airport Commission for over 25 years, the New Hampton City Cemetery Board for many years, an Executive Board Member of the Boy Scouts of America and was a Silver Beaver recipient. Al had served on the Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors, the Board of Adjustments and the State Board of Corrections. He and two other partners also owned New Hampton's “Holiday Apartments” for many years. He was a 33rd Degree Mason and a 50 year member of the Masons, Scottish Rite and the Shrine. Al is survived by his wife of 69 years, Kathleen; five sons, William (Judy) Riley, Steve (Debra) Riley, Tim (Deb) Riley all of New Hampton, Richard (Denise) Riley of Rockford, IA and Tom (Jennifer) Riley of New Hampton; one daughter, Barbara Kotz of Cedar Falls; 21 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; one brother, Donald Riley of Mount Dora FL; one sister, Jane (Del) Humeston of Knoxville, IA. He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Betty in infancy; and a son-in-law, Will Kotz; sister-in-law, Pat Riley.

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  1. Steve and Family Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Your Dad will be missed by family and many friends. Mike and Karla Gebel

  2. Dear Katie, Bill, Steve, Tim, Rich, Tom & Barb, My folks have many wonderful memories with Al & Katie, and I fondly remember hanging out at your house with Tim. I always admired Al as a very neat guy, with a big smile and great sense of humor… just like his father (our former neighbor on S. Chestnut). I know you miss him dearly. New Hampton has lost one of its best ambassadors. Take great care of your Mom, as she is a sweetheart. Very best wishes to you all, Ron Ryan

  3. We aree in AZ and heard the passing of Al. He was a great caring person. He always made my day pleasant.The community will miss him.Roger & Bernice Winter (Old UPS driver)

  4. Katie and family. We were sorry to read of Al’s passing. As I recall, the first time I ever flew , he took me up in a Piper Cub, on skies. Don and Kathy Braham, Va Beach, Va.

  5. Dear Kate and family, We received the NH paper today and saw the notice of Al’s death. We are sorry to hear of this and offer our sincere sympathy to you and your family. Al was such a friendly, warm, caring person. We will always remember him fondly. Jack and Virginia Baltes

  6. To the Riley family- We extend our sympathy to all of you. We will always remember what a happy man he was and how good he made everyone else feel. May he rest in peace. Duane & Pat Lynch

  7. Al always had a smile on his face and was a great man. May all his memories fill your minds and hearts. All our thoughts and prayers. David and Jeanne Roder

  8. Prayers and Thoughts to all of the Riley family.Remembering back, there was good memories of Al and all the Riley family on South Locust. He will be missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. Merilee Pleggenkuhle

  9. Thoughts & prayers to all of the Riley family. Hold onto all of those wonderful memories you have. You never saw him without a smile on his face or a kind word to say in passing. Al is another icon of New Hampton that will be truly missed.

  10. Kate & Family: My sincere sympathy to the Riley family at this difficult time. All those memories become so very precious and may they sustain you now and always.

  11. My sincerest sympathy to the Riley family. May your memories be a comfort in the days ahead. Al was always so happy. I appreciated the conversations he had with Herman in his ‘dementia’ days. Al was kind & considerate of others. Muriel Meyer

  12. Dear Barbara Jean, Katie, Bill, Steve, Tim, Tom, Rich… Our deepest sympathy to you all. May you find comfort in the memories and knowing you are thought of by many who care. Betty (Bouska) & Don Haugen

  13. We want you to know you are all in our thoughts and prayers. Al was a very special person and good friend. His smile and fun conversation will be missed.

  14. Our deepest sympathy to all of the Riley family. We always enjoyed our visits with Al. He had such a big, warm, fun, personality. To know him was to love him. The ‘Greatest Generation’ has lost another great one. ~ Kathy and George Bouska

  15. Katie and family We send our sincere sympathy and prayers to you and your family. Al was a true friend and a true person. Al shared a few of his memories with me sometime ago about his flying days; flying home one time in the fog, with family in his early plane at the airport, another pilot getting stuck in the mud while landing. A small aircraft in the sky – a tribute to Al. Dan and Jean Scott

  16. Dave and I extend our sympathy to all of the family. Al was such a jolly wonderful man and I always enjoyed visiting with him. He would be playing pool at the senior center and I would be exercising and he would always come in to visit, he will be missed by so many people, just know we will all have great memories of our friend Al Riley. Dave and Sandy Jaschen

  17. Lance and I extend our deepest sympathy to Al’s family. Loved his smile, sincerity and always friendly greeting. He was a fine man and business owner! Jan Manson

  18. We are sending our sincere sympathy and prayers to the entire Riley Family. Our paths crossed when we purchased ‘Riley’s Woods’ from Al and Kate to build our home and raise our children. Al and Kate would visit and walk the property from time to time,he would just smile and glaze at the trees. New Hampton will truly miss ‘one of the greats’. We are sure we will feel his presence….in the woods. David and Terry Utterback

  19. There just was not a friendlier man in all of New Hampton that dear Al. He was one of the first people I met in 1964 and he captured my heart. He was a great public servant to his community and has left his mark. My prayers, dear Katie and family.

  20. Sorry to hear of the passing of Al. He was a true friend, Shriner, and fellow Board of Suprevisor member along with serviing on Community Based Correction together. We had many great times together at meeting. I don’t think I ever seen him with out that smile on his face. Bob Walke Clayton County

  21. What a loss for our community and for your family. Al (‘Mr. Riley’) was one of a kind—he (with Katie by his side) left an imprint in the hearts of everyone he met and knew, smiling and enjoying the moments of daily living—a trip to Fareway was an adventure (just last week!)…He heartily greeted me — & everyone who walked in the door. God Bless his memory, which will forever be positive, truly uplifting! My love and sincere sympathy to you, Katie, and your special family.

  22. Kate and family, You have our deepest sympathy, we always enjoyed seeing you at the Christmas party in Cedar Rapids. May you have wonderful memories. Larry and Joyce Schmidt

  23. Steve and Family, I will miss talking to Al at the reunions at the Scottish Rite Your Dad epitomized what it means to be a Mason and a Gentleman. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Tom Kurtz

  24. Kate and family My Deepest Sympathy to all of you for the loss of your loved one. Your in my prayers and thoughts.

  25. Katie and Family, Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.It is so special to read all the wonderful things said about Al,it has to make you feel so good.And we all will remember that great smile,and he was always so happy.He will be missed by many. Tom and Marian Gebel

  26. To all the Riley family-you have our sympathy.Many memories of growing up included your family and then being neighbors they continued.Al always had that laugh and smile.He was a class act. Our love to you all. Brad,Tess, Joey and Abby

  27. Katie and family……..our deepest sympathy to all of you. Al was a very sweet and kind man with a beautiful smile and will certainly be missed. God’s blessings on you all. Jack & Nancy Anderson

  28. Katie and family; Al was truly one of a kind, and I will never forget the day I came over to the house to talk a little aviation with him. I thought it was going to be a 15-, 20-minute deal, but two hours later, I was still sitting at the table and my stomach hurt because we were laughing so much. And as we got up to leave, he remembered that Katie had made us cookies and he told us, ‘You guys can’t leave because Katie will kick my behind if she finds out I didn’t serve you cookies and coffee.’ It remains one of the best days of my reporting life and always will be. You all have our deepest sympathy. Bob Fenske

  29. Dear Katie and family: Kathy told me the news this noon and I was shocked as she was also. The two of you made such a great & classy couple, full of fun & enthusiasm for life. We will miss Al’s smiling face & friendly greetings. New Hampton lost a good businessman, leader & ambassador. You are in our thoughts & prayers. Dan and Kathy Feuling

  30. Dear Katie and family: My deepest sympathy to all of you in the passing of your husband and father. I will remember Al as a person with a wonderful sense of humor, a fun laugh and his ability to meet and greet everyone! His hugs were so great and his kindness exemplified his fine characteristics. We will all miss him, he so loved showing the picture in his wallet of his bride, Katie! Sharon Trewin

  31. Dear Katie and family, We sure will miss Al. We so enjoyed all the visits and the ice cream treats. He was a joy to spend time. Sure our grandkids will miss him too, not being there when we stop to visit while you were setting the garage. Hope you will continue to sit out so we can visit with you. God Bless you all, Leonard & Norma Rosonke

  32. Katie, Barb, Bill, Steve, Tim, Rich and Tom and families: You’re in our thoughts and prayers in the coming days. Remember and share all your memories with each other. We grew up in the best neighborhood in town. Maureen and Brad Northrup

  33. Our deepest sympathy to Katie and family. Al and I talked about how my Mom worked for his parents and did cooking for them. We would laugh and share stories. May he rest in peace. His work is done. God bless Al and all his family Jack and Betty Gorman.

  34. Dear Aunt Katie and cousins, I am so sad to hear that Uncle Al passed away. He was so special and I have many wonderful memories of him. You are in my thoughts and prayers today. I feel very lucky that my family and I had the opportunity to spend time with him last year. I’m going to miss him so much and feel grateful that he was my Uncle Al. I am very sorry for your loss.

  35. Riley Family: You have our deepest sympathy. I always enjoyed visiting with Al and he always had a smile on his face and something good to say. He represented your family and New Hampton well. God bless you all. Roger & Tina Hansen

  36. Katie & family, Our sympathy and prayers to all of the Riley family. Al was a delight to visit with and he had so many tales to tell. He will be missed by this community very much. May he now rest in peace.

  37. Our deepest sympathies to the entire Riley family. Al was one of a kind!! He was such a charming man, full of wit and laughter. He always greeted me with a smile and friendly conversation as he did with everyone. New Hampton has lost another fine man. He brightened everyone’s day with his presence. May he rest in peace. We will keep you all in our thoughts and prayers.

  38. All of us at the library are sad to hear about your loss. Al could always make us laugh. Condolences to Katie and the rest of the Riley family.

  39. Dear Katie, Bill, Steve, Tim, Rich, Tom, and Barb, Please accept our deepest sympathy. Al will truly be missed by everyone who ever knew him. You could always depend on him for a smile, a laugh and a pat on the shoulder. He and your family helped me through some bad times when I lost my parents. For that I will always be grateful. Alice and Michael Bartz

  40. A light has just gone out in the community of New Hampton. Dan and I are so saddened by Al’s death. He was such a kind, gregarious man. His sense of humor was contagious and he always had a ‘funny’ to share. Our sincerest sympathy goes out to Katie and all the Riley family. Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.


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