William Riley M.D.

William Riley M.D.

Meridian

Services for William Gail Riley, M.D. will be Monday, June 13, 2011 at Central United Methodist Church with Dr. Bob Rambo and Dr. Tom Sikes officiating. Visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m. followed by the memorial service at 1:00 p.m. Burial will be in Magnolia Cemetery with Robert Barham Family Funeral Home in charge of the arrangements.

Dr. Riley, 88, of Meridian died Friday, June 10, 2011, at his residence.

Survivors include his wife Christine Riley of Meridian, daughter Beth Canzoneri of Birmingham, Alabama, son Gail Riley and wife Moira Little of El Cerrito, California, daughter Harriet Riley and husband Greg Browne of Houston, Texas, daughter Kim Homewood and husband Steve of Pensacola Beach, Florida; and daughter Amanda McBrayer and husband Mark of Huntsville, Alabama. Also eleven grandchildren: Will Canzoneri of Los Angeles, California, Clare Canzoneri of Seattle, Washington, Philip Riley and Elsbeth Riley of El Cerrito California, Riley and Hannah Pickett of Houston, Texas, Kyla, Kett, and Kendal Homewood of Pensacola Beach, Florida and Avery and Alyse McBrayer of Huntsville, Alabama.

He was preceded in death by his first wife Lib Riley, parents Dr. F.G. Riley and Harriet Gardner Riley, and his brother Dr. Richard Riley.

Dr. William Gail Riley was born June 14, 1922 to Dr. Franklin Gail and Harriet Gardner Riley. Recognized as one of Meridian's leading citizens, doctor and philanthropist, Dr. Riley has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Riley Foundation for the past 12 years.

Dr. Riley graduated from The McCallie School in 1939 and Vanderbilt University in 1943. He received a Doctor of Pediatrics degree from Vanderbilt School of Medicine in 1945. He served his internship in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, and residency at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, and was an Assistant Resident at Vanderbilt Hospital. He studied in 1947 at the University of Vienna, Austria.

During World War II he served two years in the Army Air Force as a flight surgeon after completing the Army Air Force School of Aviation Medicine.

He returned to Meridian in 1950 and began practicing general pediatric medicine alongside his father. Along with serving the pediatric needs of the children of the Meridian area until his retirement in 1984, he has also served in an administrative capacity of Riley Memorial Hospital and Riley Development Systems before selling the hospital in 1998. At that time The Riley Foundation was formed, and he continued to serve the community from that position as one of the founding members. The Foundation has made numerous grants for the betterment of the Meridian area including the funding for the MSU Riley Center in downtown Meridian. More recent grants include the current renovation of the Newberry and Kress buildings for MSU educational classrooms.

Dr. Riley served on the Meridian Public School Board (1959-1964) and was selected as Citizen of the Year by the Meridian Star. He was a recipient of the Monsignor Award for Community Service from the Knights of Columbus and the Love's Kitchen Service Award, along with numerous other civic and arts acknowledgements. In 2007, Dr. Riley received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Mississippi State University.

He was a member of the American Medical Association, Mississippi State Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

An avid golfer in earlier years, he spent the last few years in his woodworking workshop building furniture and enjoying woodturning. He is a member of the American Association of Woodturners and the Magnolia Woodturners.

For all his impact on the City of Meridian, his legacy will live and thrive in the fertile ground of good deeds, generosity, passion and compassion. This is evident from the earlier stages of his career in medical care given to young children of his community to the more recent contributions to the education, arts and cultural aspects of the entire area.

The family requests that memorials be made to the Central United Methodist Church Building Fund or the MSU Foundation for the MSU Riley Center Endowment Fund