Her permanent tombstone reads "Nancy Donnelly Riley." Anne "Nancy" Roger Donnelly Riley was born January 20, 1933 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. She was the third (and second, surviving) child of the late Thomas James Donnelly and the late Clare Cecilia "Ceil" Meiners Donnelly. Nancy had one older sister, the late Mary Clare Donnelly Minges (wife of James Raymond Minges, deceased); an older brother who died in infancy, Thomas J. Donnelly (Mary's twin); a younger brother, the late Thomas Meiners Donnelly (husband of Mary Stauber Donnelly, deceased); and a younger sister, Catherine Theresa Donnelly (O'Fallon) (wife of William O'Fallon).
DNA testing reveals Nancy, her children, and her direct female ancestors and their brothers and direct female descendents and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
The Donnellys are descended from the powerful Irish clan of Ui Neill who claimed the High Kingship of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century AD.
Nancy was a devout Catholic and a graduate of the College of Mount Saint Joseph in Hamilton County.
There are two fascinating family stories about how two college classmates, Pat and Nancy, became sisters-in-law through the machinations of Nancy’s brothers Norm and Tom.
Father John Norman “Norm” Riley, Jr., at age 19 in the summer of 1950, went on a transatlantic voyage for The Holy Year Pilgrimage. He traveled to New York to disembark on the S.S. Roma. Norm coincidentally met a man when he was checking into his hotel in New York, on June 16, 1950, named John Garrett Offerman who was also going on the same pilgrimage. They spent the next six weeks together on their trip and kept in touch. Norm would eventually introduce John to his younger sister, Patricia Katherine “Pat” Riley Offerman-Gossman, and they started a long distance relationship leading to their marriage in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1954.
After graduating from St. Augustine’s High School in 1950, Pat attended The College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati (“The Mount”), the same school her mother had attended. While at The Mount Pat met a classmate from the nearby area, Anne Roger “Nancy” Donnelly Riley, and became friendly. They arranged a trip together with other girls during their junior year to attend the Xavier vs. John Carroll football game in Cleveland on November 8, 1952. They would take the train to Cleveland and stay with Pat’s family for the weekend. Another of Pat’s brothers, Thomas Norman “Tom” Riley, picked the girls up at the train station, evidently liked what he saw, invited himself to the football game, and started a romance with Nancy Donnelly. They were married on September 4, 1954 at Saint Antoninus Roman Catholic Church in Cincinnati.
The couple moved to the Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio area. Tom and Nancy had nine children: Thomas P. Riley (husband of Kathleen), Michael G. Riley (husband of Margaret), J. Norman Riley (husband of Mary), Patrick G. Riley (husband of Deborah), Jane C. Riley, Daniel J. Riley (husband of Deborah), Margaret M. Riley McCarthy (wife of William), Brigid Ann Riley Kelleher (who predeceased her mother) (wife of Sean whose second wife is Marta), and James P. Riley (husband of Patricia, who predeceased her mother-in-law). At the time of her death, Nancy had 28 grandchildren. For many years she worked as a department store cosmetics clerk.
Nancy was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. She is remembered by her children's friends for sleep-overs in the basement and for making the coolest gifts, like a coke bottle doll with tie-top shirt. She experienced in her life both happiness and tragedy, none worse than the death of her daughter Brigid.
In her last years she suffered from dementia. Nancy died at age 79 on November 5, 2012 in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and her funeral was at Saint Christopher Roman Catholic Church in Rocky River. She was buried at Lakewood Park Cemetery in Rocky River. Her gravestone reads "God Bless" in her own handwriting. In 2015 her husband Tom was buried next to her.
In the words of Tom and Nancy's son Norm, "Mom and Dad have left us with tangible evidence of love, faith, hope, charity, respect, hard work, perseverance, the ability to overcome challenges no matter how hard, laughter, and family."
Thanks so much to all the Riley family researchers, especially Norm Riley, for much of this information. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions. If a closer relative than I would like to manage this burial site, please let me know.
DNA testing reveals Nancy, her children, and her direct female ancestors and their brothers and direct female descendents and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
The Donnellys are descended from the powerful Irish clan of Ui Neill who claimed the High Kingship of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century AD.
Nancy was a devout Catholic and a graduate of the College of Mount Saint Joseph in Hamilton County.
There are two fascinating family stories about how two college classmates, Pat and Nancy, became sisters-in-law through the machinations of Nancy’s brothers Norm and Tom.
Father John Norman “Norm” Riley, Jr., at age 19 in the summer of 1950, went on a transatlantic voyage for The Holy Year Pilgrimage. He traveled to New York to disembark on the S.S. Roma. Norm coincidentally met a man when he was checking into his hotel in New York, on June 16, 1950, named John Garrett Offerman who was also going on the same pilgrimage. They spent the next six weeks together on their trip and kept in touch. Norm would eventually introduce John to his younger sister, Patricia Katherine “Pat” Riley Offerman-Gossman, and they started a long distance relationship leading to their marriage in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1954.
After graduating from St. Augustine’s High School in 1950, Pat attended The College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati (“The Mount”), the same school her mother had attended. While at The Mount Pat met a classmate from the nearby area, Anne Roger “Nancy” Donnelly Riley, and became friendly. They arranged a trip together with other girls during their junior year to attend the Xavier vs. John Carroll football game in Cleveland on November 8, 1952. They would take the train to Cleveland and stay with Pat’s family for the weekend. Another of Pat’s brothers, Thomas Norman “Tom” Riley, picked the girls up at the train station, evidently liked what he saw, invited himself to the football game, and started a romance with Nancy Donnelly. They were married on September 4, 1954 at Saint Antoninus Roman Catholic Church in Cincinnati.
The couple moved to the Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio area. Tom and Nancy had nine children: Thomas P. Riley (husband of Kathleen), Michael G. Riley (husband of Margaret), J. Norman Riley (husband of Mary), Patrick G. Riley (husband of Deborah), Jane C. Riley, Daniel J. Riley (husband of Deborah), Margaret M. Riley McCarthy (wife of William), Brigid Ann Riley Kelleher (who predeceased her mother) (wife of Sean whose second wife is Marta), and James P. Riley (husband of Patricia, who predeceased her mother-in-law). At the time of her death, Nancy had 28 grandchildren. For many years she worked as a department store cosmetics clerk.
Nancy was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. She is remembered by her children's friends for sleep-overs in the basement and for making the coolest gifts, like a coke bottle doll with tie-top shirt. She experienced in her life both happiness and tragedy, none worse than the death of her daughter Brigid.
In her last years she suffered from dementia. Nancy died at age 79 on November 5, 2012 in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and her funeral was at Saint Christopher Roman Catholic Church in Rocky River. She was buried at Lakewood Park Cemetery in Rocky River. Her gravestone reads "God Bless" in her own handwriting. In 2015 her husband Tom was buried next to her.
In the words of Tom and Nancy's son Norm, "Mom and Dad have left us with tangible evidence of love, faith, hope, charity, respect, hard work, perseverance, the ability to overcome challenges no matter how hard, laughter, and family."
Thanks so much to all the Riley family researchers, especially Norm Riley, for much of this information. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions. If a closer relative than I would like to manage this burial site, please let me know.
Her permanent tombstone reads "Nancy Donnelly Riley." Anne "Nancy" Roger Donnelly Riley was born January 20, 1933 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. She was the third (and second, surviving) child of the late Thomas James Donnelly and the late Clare Cecilia "Ceil" Meiners Donnelly. Nancy had one older sister, the late Mary Clare Donnelly Minges (wife of James Raymond Minges, deceased); an older brother who died in infancy, Thomas J. Donnelly (Mary's twin); a younger brother, the late Thomas Meiners Donnelly (husband of Mary Stauber Donnelly, deceased); and a younger sister, Catherine Theresa Donnelly (O'Fallon) (wife of William O'Fallon).
DNA testing reveals Nancy, her children, and her direct female ancestors and their brothers and direct female descendents and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
The Donnellys are descended from the powerful Irish clan of Ui Neill who claimed the High Kingship of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century AD.
Nancy was a devout Catholic and a graduate of the College of Mount Saint Joseph in Hamilton County.
There are two fascinating family stories about how two college classmates, Pat and Nancy, became sisters-in-law through the machinations of Nancy’s brothers Norm and Tom.
Father John Norman “Norm” Riley, Jr., at age 19 in the summer of 1950, went on a transatlantic voyage for The Holy Year Pilgrimage. He traveled to New York to disembark on the S.S. Roma. Norm coincidentally met a man when he was checking into his hotel in New York, on June 16, 1950, named John Garrett Offerman who was also going on the same pilgrimage. They spent the next six weeks together on their trip and kept in touch. Norm would eventually introduce John to his younger sister, Patricia Katherine “Pat” Riley Offerman-Gossman, and they started a long distance relationship leading to their marriage in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1954.
After graduating from St. Augustine’s High School in 1950, Pat attended The College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati (“The Mount”), the same school her mother had attended. While at The Mount Pat met a classmate from the nearby area, Anne Roger “Nancy” Donnelly Riley, and became friendly. They arranged a trip together with other girls during their junior year to attend the Xavier vs. John Carroll football game in Cleveland on November 8, 1952. They would take the train to Cleveland and stay with Pat’s family for the weekend. Another of Pat’s brothers, Thomas Norman “Tom” Riley, picked the girls up at the train station, evidently liked what he saw, invited himself to the football game, and started a romance with Nancy Donnelly. They were married on September 4, 1954 at Saint Antoninus Roman Catholic Church in Cincinnati.
The couple moved to the Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio area. Tom and Nancy had nine children: Thomas P. Riley (husband of Kathleen), Michael G. Riley (husband of Margaret), J. Norman Riley (husband of Mary), Patrick G. Riley (husband of Deborah), Jane C. Riley, Daniel J. Riley (husband of Deborah), Margaret M. Riley McCarthy (wife of William), Brigid Ann Riley Kelleher (who predeceased her mother) (wife of Sean whose second wife is Marta), and James P. Riley (husband of Patricia, who predeceased her mother-in-law). At the time of her death, Nancy had 28 grandchildren. For many years she worked as a department store cosmetics clerk.
Nancy was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. She is remembered by her children's friends for sleep-overs in the basement and for making the coolest gifts, like a coke bottle doll with tie-top shirt. She experienced in her life both happiness and tragedy, none worse than the death of her daughter Brigid.
In her last years she suffered from dementia. Nancy died at age 79 on November 5, 2012 in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and her funeral was at Saint Christopher Roman Catholic Church in Rocky River. She was buried at Lakewood Park Cemetery in Rocky River. Her gravestone reads "God Bless" in her own handwriting. In 2015 her husband Tom was buried next to her.
In the words of Tom and Nancy's son Norm, "Mom and Dad have left us with tangible evidence of love, faith, hope, charity, respect, hard work, perseverance, the ability to overcome challenges no matter how hard, laughter, and family."
Thanks so much to all the Riley family researchers, especially Norm Riley, for much of this information. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions. If a closer relative than I would like to manage this burial site, please let me know.
DNA testing reveals Nancy, her children, and her direct female ancestors and their brothers and direct female descendents and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
The Donnellys are descended from the powerful Irish clan of Ui Neill who claimed the High Kingship of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century AD.
Nancy was a devout Catholic and a graduate of the College of Mount Saint Joseph in Hamilton County.
There are two fascinating family stories about how two college classmates, Pat and Nancy, became sisters-in-law through the machinations of Nancy’s brothers Norm and Tom.
Father John Norman “Norm” Riley, Jr., at age 19 in the summer of 1950, went on a transatlantic voyage for The Holy Year Pilgrimage. He traveled to New York to disembark on the S.S. Roma. Norm coincidentally met a man when he was checking into his hotel in New York, on June 16, 1950, named John Garrett Offerman who was also going on the same pilgrimage. They spent the next six weeks together on their trip and kept in touch. Norm would eventually introduce John to his younger sister, Patricia Katherine “Pat” Riley Offerman-Gossman, and they started a long distance relationship leading to their marriage in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1954.
After graduating from St. Augustine’s High School in 1950, Pat attended The College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati (“The Mount”), the same school her mother had attended. While at The Mount Pat met a classmate from the nearby area, Anne Roger “Nancy” Donnelly Riley, and became friendly. They arranged a trip together with other girls during their junior year to attend the Xavier vs. John Carroll football game in Cleveland on November 8, 1952. They would take the train to Cleveland and stay with Pat’s family for the weekend. Another of Pat’s brothers, Thomas Norman “Tom” Riley, picked the girls up at the train station, evidently liked what he saw, invited himself to the football game, and started a romance with Nancy Donnelly. They were married on September 4, 1954 at Saint Antoninus Roman Catholic Church in Cincinnati.
The couple moved to the Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio area. Tom and Nancy had nine children: Thomas P. Riley (husband of Kathleen), Michael G. Riley (husband of Margaret), J. Norman Riley (husband of Mary), Patrick G. Riley (husband of Deborah), Jane C. Riley, Daniel J. Riley (husband of Deborah), Margaret M. Riley McCarthy (wife of William), Brigid Ann Riley Kelleher (who predeceased her mother) (wife of Sean whose second wife is Marta), and James P. Riley (husband of Patricia, who predeceased her mother-in-law). At the time of her death, Nancy had 28 grandchildren. For many years she worked as a department store cosmetics clerk.
Nancy was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. She is remembered by her children's friends for sleep-overs in the basement and for making the coolest gifts, like a coke bottle doll with tie-top shirt. She experienced in her life both happiness and tragedy, none worse than the death of her daughter Brigid.
In her last years she suffered from dementia. Nancy died at age 79 on November 5, 2012 in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and her funeral was at Saint Christopher Roman Catholic Church in Rocky River. She was buried at Lakewood Park Cemetery in Rocky River. Her gravestone reads "God Bless" in her own handwriting. In 2015 her husband Tom was buried next to her.
In the words of Tom and Nancy's son Norm, "Mom and Dad have left us with tangible evidence of love, faith, hope, charity, respect, hard work, perseverance, the ability to overcome challenges no matter how hard, laughter, and family."
Thanks so much to all the Riley family researchers, especially Norm Riley, for much of this information. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions. If a closer relative than I would like to manage this burial site, please let me know.
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