Barbara Riley

It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Barbara N. Riley, who left us on October 7th at the age of 85. Barbara was a deeply caring, passionate, and resilient individual who dedicated her life to advocating for others and pursuing her dreams despite facing her own challenges. Although she was born with a severe disability, she never used it as an excuse to keep her from pursuing her dreams, fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, raising a child and supporting those she loved.

Born in Missoula, Montana, Barbara spent her early childhood in Salishan in Tacoma, Washington. Built in 1942 and 1943 as an emergency federal housing project for wartime shipyard and aircraft workers, Salishan was highly notable as one of the region's very first intentionally and successfully racially integrated neighborhoods. Growing up in this progressive, diverse community left a lasting impression on Barbara. At the age of ten, she moved to the tight-knit timber and railway community of Trout Creek, Montana. She later graduated from Noxon High School and earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho. Having grown up alongside her mentally challenged younger brother and witnessing firsthand how cruel the world could be to the vulnerable, Barbara found her lifelong calling, guiding her toward a distinguished career as a fierce and dedicated Special Education teacher.

Her teaching journey began in Priest River, Idaho, and continued at Colville Junior High School in Washington, where she organized the local Special Olympics. Committed to mastering her field, she earned a master’s degree in education from Eastern Washington University and eventually settled in Spokane. There, she spent 25 years teaching in the Mead School District—at Mead Junior High and Northwood Middle School—where she designed the district's very first wide-scale Special Education program. Throughout her career, she refused to compromise when it came to the future of "her kids," ensuring every student had equal access to education and a path to excellence.

Her leadership extended far beyond the classroom. During the foundational decades of the Mead Education Association (MEA), she proudly served as its Director and Vice President, helping shape inclusion policies and working conditions for future educators. She also served for ten years as a director for the Washington State chapter of the Special Olympics and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Washington Association for Retarded Citizens (now known today as The Arc of Washington State), an organization built by parents dedicated to moving children out of institutional care and into public schools.

Following her retirement in 2002, Barbara turned her vibrant energy toward supporting the performing arts. A former singer, actor, and theatre director herself, she held a lifelong love for live theatre, dance, and music. She relished trips to New York to take in Broadway and off-Broadway performances (particularly those featuring her son, Ron) and was always eager to encourage and support up-and-coming artists. In her quieter moments, Barbara explored her own creativity by dabbling in watercolors, designing and developing her backyard garden, and writing short stories capturing the unique splendor of growing up in rural western Montana and her own personal relationships. She was an avid collector of dolls and figurines, possessing a few rare finds. Barbara also deeply loved animals, cats in particular, raising several throughout her life and finally doting on her beloved Missy and Blue before they passed.

In 2006 she was fortunate and grateful to be reunited with her daughter Ellen who had to be given up for adoption in 1962.

Barbara conquered nearly every obstacle with grace, never growing bitter, even as her health declined at the end of her life, she was always ready to share a story, a laugh or an off-color joke. She was preceded in death by her mother, Alice Lacy; her father, Lloyd B. Riley; and her younger brother, William ‘Bill’ Lacy.

She is survived and dearly missed by her brothers, Darrell and Richard Riley; her son, Ronald Riley and daughter-in-law Cheri Magid; and her daughter, Ellen Houston.

Barbara’s ashes will be interred between the graves of her grandparents, Amos and Barbara Riley, in Plains, Montana, returning her to the part of the country she so loved.