Lara Thompson Riley

Lara Thompson Riley, long-time resident of the Birmingham, Alabama area, passed away Wednesday, January 5, 2022. She was born in Marietta, Georgia on March 8, 1972 to Carolyn Taylor Thompson and Stephen Ray Thompson.

Lara's employer was the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, where she had spent 19 years of her career, mostly as a special education teacher but most recently as an Outreach Provider for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She had also worked for Baldwin County (Alabama) Public Schools.

Lara earned the Bachelor's Degree in Education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing from the University of Alabama, the Master's Degree in Special Education from UAB, and recently the Certification in Psychometry.

Lara was a member of Liberty Baptist Church in Chelsea, Alabama. She was formerly a member at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham and First Baptist Church of Fairhope, Alabama.

Lara was predeceased by her grandparents, Orbie Ray Thompson, and Clyde and Ruth Taylor; and brother-in-law, Will Riley. Survivors include Lara's husband, Samuel Hayden Riley, to whom she was married on June 6, 1998 in Homewood, Alabama; her daughter, Taylor Bethany Riley; parents, Carolyn and Stephen Thompson; mother- and father-in-law, Jennie and Jack Riley; one brother, John Thompson and his wife Scarlet; nephew, Cade Thompson; nieces, Keeley and Kaela Thompson; grandmother, Jacqueline Thompson Emanuel and her husband Wayne; numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins; and close friends, Jennifer Oldenburg, Beverly Brown, Jennifer Baker, Jennifer Eggers, and Elizabeth Brock.

The family will greet friends from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, January 9, 2022 at Ridout's Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Pelham, Alabama. The Service of Remembrance for Lara Thompson Riley and the gravesite committal service will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the AIDB Foundation/Helen Keller School, Attn: Amanda Scott, P.O. Box 698, Talladega, AL 35161. Or, give online at www.aidb.org.