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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
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Sylvia Riley
SYLVIA RILEY
Cedar Rapids
Sylvia G. Riley of Louisville, Colo., died Jan. 19, 2015, at Balfour Retirement Community in Louisville.
She was born Jan. 24, 1933, in Escanaba, Mich., the daughter of Voris and Elfreda Gilbert. She spent her childhood in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Des Moines.
She attended the University of Iowa, where she was a Delta Gamma. She met her husband, Byron Riley, on a blind date in Iowa City. Sylvia and Byron were married in 1953 and celebrated 61 years of marriage. They lived and raised their six children in Cedar Rapids.
Sylvia graduated from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids in 1978 and worked as a special education aide at McKinley Junior High and as an ESL instructor at Kirkwood. She also volunteered for many organizations in Cedar Rapids. Sylvia and Byron moved to Colorado in 2012 to be closer to family.
Sylvia loved opera, reading, bridge, tennis, walking and traveling. She especially enjoyed spending summers on Lake Michigan in Door County, Wis.
She is survived by her husband, Byron "Buck"; children, Randy (Debbie) of Cota de Caza, Calif., Karel Boswell (Bob) of Boulder, Colo., Suzanne (Dan Knoedler) of Sheboygan, Wis., Peter (Sharon) of Dallas, John (Pam) of Denver, Colo., and David (Patty) of Denver; 14 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
A memorial celebration will be at a later date.
Contributions may be made to Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, 1120 Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 or Brucemore, 2160 Linden Dr. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403.
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