September 7, 1927 - March 23, 2017
Lois Blake Riley, age 89 passed away peacefully on Thursday. March 23, 2017. She was born September 27, 1927, in Lindsay, Oklahoma, to the late Albert Monroe Blake and Sonie Ada Carter. On June 30, 1943, Lois was united in marriage to the love of her life, Jessie James Riley in Del Rio, Texas.
After the war in 1946, Lois moved out west with her husband to California and settled in Stockton to raise her family. She was a very dedicated and loyal employee of Safeway Bakery for over 22 years until her retirement at 62. Nary a child left the bakery without a smile and a cookie. She was a member of Quail Lakes Baptist Church and Retail Clerks Union. She was a devoted and loving mother, grandmother. Lois adored her family deeply and enjoyed spending time with her children over visits, dinners, holiday's and picnics. She would spend hours in the kitchen cooking from scratch to make sure everyone’s favorite dish was on the table. Be it friends or family, whomever entered her home, enjoyed lively conversation and a great meal. Lois loved to chat with loved ones about her childhood, growing up in a large family and what it was like during World War II. Oh, how her eyes would light up as she told stories of our ancestors past with such enthusiasm and detail, all you had to do was close your eyes and it was like you were there, reliving it with her all over again.
Lois was and will always be an amazing, loving, caring, and strong woman, whom bestowed integrity and values upon her family thru example. She was the glue that held her family together thru good times and bad. Always there, always vigilant. She will be missed deeply by all who knew her.
She is survived by her son James Allen Riley and wife Mary, her daughter Janet Sey. Five grandchildren, Sheri (Mario) Flores, Stockton, CA, Theresa (Andrew) Aguilar, Turlock, CA, Karen (Eric) Cortez, Turlock, CA, James Allen Riley Jr. (Sherry) Stockton, CA, Ryan (Rachelle) Sey, San Diego, CA, twelve great grandchildren and five great great grandchildren, two sisters Dorothy Petty, Fort Worth, TX, and Belle Driver, TX. She is preceded in death by her loving husband of 67 years Jessie James Riley, her granddaughter Rebecca Michelle Sey, and seven siblings.
SERVICES
Funeral services were private, Cherokee Memorial Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Hospice of San Joaquin.