Helen Riley Obituary, Death Cause – In Sykesville, Maryland, on March 27, 2024, Helen Shriver Riley, who was 93 years old at the time of her death, passed away at Fairhaven, a continuing care home. Having been a staunch advocate for historic preservation issues for a considerable amount of time, Riley was the oldest member of the Carroll County Shriver family who was still alive in Union Mills, Maryland. The day of her 94th birthday was drawing more and closer. James McSherry Shriver, Sr. and Helen Brogden Shriver, both of Union Mills, were her parents when she was born on March 31, 1930. Her father had gone away earlier that year.
Her childhood was spent at Chinquapin Hill, family homestead, which was located next to the historic Union Mills Homestead. She was the second of six Shriver siblings and spent her childhood there. The well-known canning company B.F. Shriver Co. was her father’s enterprise, and when she was a young girl, she assisted her father with farming activities. Her father was the president of the company. Following her graduation from Garrison Forest High School in 1948, Mrs. Riley went on to enroll in St. John School, which is located in Westminster.
After completing her high school education, she went on to pursue further education at Catholic University and Strayer’s Business School. Following that, she went on to work for Dr. Wilson Grubb, the Junior League of Baltimore, and the Federal Reserve Bank.
Following the marriage of her spouse, the late G. Donald Riley, Jr., to him in 1955, they lived in a number of different locations, including Annapolis, Honolulu, the Persian Gulf, and northern Virginia. In 1972, he took his retirement from the Navy.
Due to the fact that her husband was serving in the Navy, Mrs. Riley was the one who was capable of raising their five children. Mrs. Riley and her husband lived at Farm Content for forty-three years. Farm Content is a historic place that was erected by her ancestor David Shriver, who was a lawmaker and a patriot during the Revolutionary War.
The Rileys were successful in having the Riley House included on the National Register of Historic Places as a result of their efforts to restore the house and their commitment to the preservation of the site. Following the celebration of their marriage, Mrs. Riley and her husband made a donation of a preservation easement on Farm Content to three different organizations.
These organizations are the Carroll County Land Trust, the Maryland Historical Trust, and the Maryland Environmental Trust. In addition, they formed and incorporated the Historic Shriver Graveyard, Inc. in order to ensure the preservation of a historic Shriver family cemetery that is located next to Farm Content for all time to come.
Mrs. Riley had a wide range of hobbies, including but not limited to genealogy, gardening, tennis, the preservation of historic landmarks, and involvement in the community. Among the various organizations that she was a part of, she was a member of the Roslyn Garden Club, the Carroll County Historical Society, and the Union Mills Homestead Foundation for her entire life.
Among the many historical organizations that she was a part of, she was an active member of the Colonial Dames of America, Chapter 1, the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, and the William Winchester Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which she served for more than sixty years.
