St. Paul HOF: Rileys' love for St. Paul unmatched

Editor's note: This is the third of eight profiles on the upcoming St. Paul Hall of Fame Class of 2021 inductees. NORWALK — It is easy for Sue Riley to remember the date she started her love affair with St. Paul. "John and I were married 42 years ago on August 18, 1979. I started as a kindergarten teacher here two days later," Sue said. "It was a scary situation for a still starry-eyed bride. Knowing absolutely no one in the community and not having time to set up the classroom, I am forever indebted to my now dear friends Marcia Roth and Andi Ott, for helping make the move to a new home and a new job successful." She found her classroom ready to go and started a career that has lasted four decades. At the same time, John came back from his college experience and eventually joined the family firm, Leon Riley Excavating. Since then, there are few physical parts of the schools and parish buildings that do not have the fingerprints of John Riley on them. An innovator and visionary, he has taken on just about any job given him. Whether it was running a chainsaw, repairing a school roof, putting in windows, cooking on the grill, driving the school bus, sandblasting, fixing a toilet, or using his company's equipment to benefit the parish and school grounds, John has been everywhere. That love for St. Paul by John and Sue are chief among the reasons the couple will enter the school's Hall of Fame with the Class of 2021 the weekend of Oct. 2-3. Sue, the oldest of three children, born into an upstate New York family, attended a public school. Like so many Catholic children, she attended CCD classes. Sue was one of five family members, including her mother and father, who were in the teaching profession. Upon graduation from high school, she attended Potsdam State University in Potsdam, N.Y., where she earned a dual degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. She then earned a Masters Degree in Reading Education at New York's Geneseo State University. "I taught fourth grade for four years in New York and met John there in 1978," she said. "He was attending a party with a fraternity brother when we were introduced. A turnpike romance ensued and we were married one year later." The whirlwind trip to her kindergarten assignment at St. Paul followed and lasted four years. In between, John and Sue had the first of three boys, Zack, born in 1982. Tavis followed in 1983 and Brad in 1985. "My life as a stay-at-home-mom lasted about six months," Sue said. "The school called and asked if I would take a part-time Learning Disability position at St. Paul. I did so, and was then asked to help start a preschool to better minister to the young families of the parish. I again agreed. The preschool flourished and had to find new quarters on Woodlawn Avenue. I moved into the position of director of the school a short time later mainly to keep up with ever-changing state mandates." Then came the Firelands Catholic Education Development Office (FCEDO) and almost immediately, Sue was asked to take a position on the board. She initially headed a Saturday Enrichment Class project as an all-out parishioner effort to boost enrollment. The FCEDO Endowment Fund projects started in 1994. Again, the Riley family took a front and center stance. Originally, Sue was a board member. But once firmly established, in addition to her directorship of FCEDO, she became a part of a driving force for the eventual St. Paul-St. Mary schools merger — Norwalk Catholic School. That merger took place about the same time as the Faithful Stewards of Tomorrow campaign and the building of the new additions, the junior high building and the Parish Center, between the church and the high school. Presently, Sue has just one title, Director of Endowment & Planned Giving. But, never a person to say "no" if it is to benefit St. Paul, she has devoted countless hours to four different capital campaigns that benefited both the school and the church. John is now fully retired from the family boring business. His three sons now head the very successful firm that has worked in 10 states. "The boys have been involved ever since they were old enough to drive equipment," John said. "My father, along with a number of Ohio construction contractors, pioneered the art of boring. I believe a job in Montana is as far as we have gone from the shop." John, a graduate of St. Mary's grade school in 1968, Norwalk High School in 1972 — and then three years at Tri-State University in Angola, Ind. — has overseen many critical bores over the years. But none needed to be more perfect than the 600-foot bore under the Portage River in Port Clinton. "The target was a parking lot directly between side-by-side condominiums," he said. "The sight line had to be very precise for a pipe that would carry both water and telephone cable. "I guess jobs like this are pretty much standard for the office in this day and age," he said. And helping St. Paul has also become "the standard" for John and Sue Riley.