Timothy John Riley

1945 - 2021

PLYMOUTH, MINN.- On July 30, 2021, Timothy John Riley passed away peacefully at home at the age of 76 in Plymouth, Minn. Timothy (Tim), born on Jan. 1, 1945 in Indianapolis, Ind., is the son of the late Patricia Kiley and James Allen Riley. He grew up in Eau Claire, Wis., attended Holy Cross Seminary in Lacrosse, and graduated from Regis High School in Eau Claire. Tim went south to attend Georgia Technology Institute in Atlanta where he graduated with a BS in Industrial Engineering. In his senior year of college he met the love of his life, Janice Weatherby. They were married on March 18, 1967. Tim and Janice moved to Woodstock, N.Y., in the fall of 1967. Here they would put down roots to raise two boys and become immersed in a community that supported their love of music, art and bohemian living — Tim would also begin his career at IBM in nearby Kingston, N.Y. Scoring the highest ever in statistics for an IBM new hire, Tim created a new approach to engineering at IBM by using statistics on a mainframe computer. Tim rose quickly through the ranks at IBM over the next 21 years leading teams who developed many breakthrough products. As legend has it, Tim was one of the original ‘blue shirts’ at IBM, shirking the conformity of IBM’s dress code requiring white shirts only. In 1988, Tim moved to Minneapolis to take the position of VP and CTO at Control Data where he would lead the supercomputing division through many business changes over the next six years. In 1990, Tim and the Control Data leadership team welcomed Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to the Bloomington, MN headquarters to discuss a supercomputer deal to upgrade failing nuclear power plants in the Soviet Union. This was hailed as a breakthrough in relations between the US and Soviet Union. In 1994, Tim joined Datacard in Eden Prairie, Minn., as Senior Vice President. He oversaw the development and implementation of credit card printing machines, international IDs and supporting systems. Tim directly managed Datacard’s expansion into European and Asian markets. From 2000 - 2002, Tim and Janice relocated to Columbus, Ohio, where Tim would serve as a Vice President of Checkfree (Fiserv). In his final chapter of technology, he mentored his sons Patrick and Dan as they grew their technology startup Modern Survey. Tapping into the roots of creative engineering they learned from Tim, Modern Survey would become one of the first Twin Cities enterprise web technology companies and it was acquired by Aon in 2016. Tim was revered as a gifted leader of teams and had a knack for bringing empathetic thinking to complex customer needs. His door was always open and he was a friend to all employees and customers, wherever he worked. When not at work, Tim was engaged with his local community. He was a little league coach, Cubmaster and Scoutmaster. He spent his weekends building and finishing the family home, a ten-year project! Mostly, Tim is remembered as one of the good ones. A sweet, caring man adored by his family and friends who always offered “another way to think about it.” Tim’s evening ritual included a nice cigar and a drink of scotch on the front porch. He is survived by his wife, Janice; sons, Patrick and Daniel; sister, Mary in Kingston, N.Y.; and brother, John in Anchorage, Alaska. A private memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers please send donations to A Better Chance www.edinaabc.org in the name of Timothy Riley. https://www.lastingmemories.com/timothy-john-riley