Obituary of Ida Riley

IDA (MIM) RILEY Kingsport- Ida (Mim) Jones Riley, 86, of Kingsport entered into heaven on Tuesday morning, (December 24, 2013) at her residence following a lengthy illness. She was born on August 30, 1927 in Newport, VA and was the daughter of the late Adlai and Annie Jones. She graduated from high school in Giles County VA, and also attended Steed College. She met her future husband Paul Riley while attending college and later married on July 3, 1947. Ida started working for Congressman Jimmy Quillen's District office in Kingsport in January 1963. In 1967, she became the manager of the office and remained there until July 1979. Afterwards she went to work for Governor Lamar Alexander, who opened his Regional Office at the Tri-Cities Airport and she was named the Director of the Upper East Tennessee Office. This was one of the happiest periods in her professional life as she got to travel to many places across the region and helped people and plan events such as Lincoln Day dinners and other political functions across the district. After Governor Alexander's second term ended, Ida retired and then began the "best job ever." She took care of her great grandchildren until they entered school. Ida was a very loving and caring person who enjoyed taking care of her family and spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She taught her family about unconditional love and the value of family and is leaving behind such a wonderful legacy. Mim was a joy to be around and a blessing to everyone who knew and loved her. Ida never met a stranger and enjoyed helping others. She was a member of Litz Manor Baptist Church for much of her life and taught Sunday school there for many years. For the past few years, she was a member of Colonial Heights Baptist Church and even though she was homebound she enjoyed the visits from the church. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Paul Pierce Riley; son, Gary Paul Riley; two sisters, Mary Jones Farris and Madeline Jones Moore; one brother, William (Bill) Jones, special sister-in-law Shirley Jones. Survivors include her loving daughter and special son-in-law, Patsy Hobbs and husband Bruce; one granddaughter, Tiffany Domby and husband, Chad; three grandsons, Tyler Hobbs and wife Courtney, Jonathan Riley and wife Kayley, Joshua Riley and wife Amanda; ten great-grandchildren, Peyton, Ashton, and Griffin Domby, Drew, Margaret, Clay and Brady Carter, Elijah and Charlotte Riley, and Brielle Riley; a brother, George Jones; one sister, Jane Jones and husband, Buddy; a sister-in-law, Kathleen Lipford and husband, Joe; her several nieces and nephews along with a very special caregiver and adopted family member, Rose Bogus " her side kick" who took such special loving care of Mim. She is such a blessing and brought much joy to Mim and the whole family. The family will receive friends from 11:30am-2:00pm Saturday, December 28th 2013 at Carter Trent Downtown Kingsport or friends may also call anytime at the residence of the daughter (Patsy Hobbs) or granddaughter (Tiffany Domby). A funeral will follow at 2: 00pm in the funeral home chapel with Dr. Danny West and Rev. Greg Burton, officiating. Eulogy will be provided by Rufus Hood. Music will be provided by Rosemary Smith and Ada Moultry. A graveside service will be conducted at East Lawn Cemetery on Saturday (December 28, 2013) following the funeral service with her family and friends serving as pallbearers. Memorial donations may be made to St. Judes Children Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Funeral Home, downtown Kingsport is serving the Riley family.