Michael Robert Riley

Michael Robert Riley CARLSBAD -- Michael Robert Riley had the gift of Irish blarney, and was an enchanting storyteller. He had a quick wit and was a talented teller of jokes who kept his friends and family laughing. They will all miss him. He was born August 23, 1935 in Etiwanda, Calif., to Leo Joseph and Helen Elizabeth Holmes Riley and died September 16, 2011 in Carlsbad, Calif. Michael was the youngest of seven siblings and spent his early years on his father's citrus ranch in a home that is now a historical building in Rancho Cucamonga near Riley Court. He was raised in San Bernardino, attended Newman High School and graduated from Saint Bernadine's High School in San Bernardino. He attended several institutions of higher learning. In 1959, Mike married his beloved wife Kay and celebrated 52 years of marriage in August, 2011. Michael served ten years in the U.S. Coast Guard as a corpsman, yeoman, and investigator. He continued a career in Law Enforcement at Torrance, Calif. Police Department as a patrolman, Standard Oil Company, and the Tustin, Calif., Police Department, where he established the Traffic division for the department. He retired from the San Diego County Sheriff Dept., serving as Confidential Assistant to Sheriff John Duffy and as a Law Enforcement Lobbyist to the California State Legislature. He was a founder and first President of the Tustin Police Officers Association. During Mike's Law Enforcement career, he served on security details for President Lyndon Johnson, George Wallace, and the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Mike also served the Carlsbad community as Traffic Commissioner in the 1970s, and as a board member for Project OZ. He was an active member of St. Patrick Catholic Church, serving in many capacities. He hybridized and trademarked several varieties of fuchsias which are sold worldwide. Michael was also a member of the North County Cruisers. Mike will be remembered for his quick sense of humor, his devotion to his family and to his Church, his love for playing flamenco and classical guitar music and his delight in his red '27 Ford Model "T" delivery van and his '66 Dodge Barracuda muscle car. Michael is survived by his loving wife, Kay of Carlsbad; daughters, Kathryn Miller (Karl) of Oceanside, and Elizabeth Clelland (James) of Vista; son, Michael (Denise) of Omaha, Nebraska; and nine grandchildren, Colette, Anora, Mitchell, Michael, Erin, William, Jenney, Christina and Kathryn. He is also survived by sisters, Helen Utman of Newport Beach, Calif., Barbara Lacie of San Pedro, Calif., Joanne Dowd of Irvine, Calif., Mary Russo of Boynton Beach, Fla.; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Leo and Helen Riley, brother Pat Riley and sister Patsy Ledig. Mass will be celebrated Monday, October 3, 2011, 9:30 a.m. at St. Patrick Church in Carlsbad. His cremains will be interred at Mission San Luis Rey cemetery.