Richmond Riley, analyst, activist

Richmond Riley, 81, formerly of Cherry Hill, a retired systems analyst and civic activist, died of cancer Saturday at Normandy Farms Estates in Blue Bell.

Mr. Riley, the youngest of seven children, graduated from Germantown High School. At 17, he joined the Merchant Marines because his father refused to sign him up for the Navy. He served aboard cargo ships supplying the troops during World War II.

After the war, he was a payroll clerk for Atlantic Refining Co., now ARCO, in Philadelphia and earned a bachelor's degree in business at night from Temple University. In the 1960s, he worked on ARCO's first main frame computers, and in the early 1970s, he oversaw the installation of computer systems in ARCO offices in Los Angeles. In 1972 he joined the telecommunications and information systems office of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. He retired in 1995.

For almost 40 years, Mr. Riley and his first wife, Vivian Kenneth Riley, lived in Cherry Hill, where he was active with the Kingston Estates Civic Association. In 1957, when the Kingston Estates Swim Club opened, he was the volunteer facilities director, overseeing the construction of the snack bar, changing rooms and recreation areas. He also served on the club's building fund committee.

Mr. Riley was campaign manager and treasurer for the late Rep. Edwin B. Forsythe (R., Sixth and then 13th District) and was campaign treasurer for former state Assemblyman John Rocco, a Republican from Cherry Hill. In 1973, he served on the Cherry Hill Charter Study Commission, which recommended changing the township to a council-manager form of government. For many years, he served on the Cherry Hill Township Planning Commission.

Mr. Riley was a Mason and was past president of the Cherry Hill Lions Club.

His first wife died in 1994. He moved to Ambler in 1996 when he married, Jean Fromm Storm.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Riley is survived by a daughter, Linda; stepdaughters Leslie and Betsy Storm; a brother; a sister; and a granddaughter.

A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. today at First Presbyterian Church of Ambler, where Mr. Riley was a deacon, 4 S. Ridge Ave., Ambler. Friends may call at 12:30 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Ave., Philadelphia, 19111.