A native of Louisville, Kentucky, DeeDee was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in December, 1943. Her mother, Dorothy Graham Riley, and her older sister, Emily Oliver Riley, were living in Charleston while her father, Francis Collins Riley, was serving our country overseas. After the war, DeeDee and her family returned to Louisville, where they were later joined by her younger sister, Elizabeth Riley Blodgett. DeeDee lived in Louisville until she matriculated at Vanderbilt University. DeeDee graduated from Vanderbilt with a degree in History in 1965. While there, she was a member of Delta Delta Delta. DeeDee loved to travel, and some of her fondest memories were of her semester abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France.
After graduating from Vanderbilt, DeeDee married and moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Her oldest daughter, Julia O’Meara (Lynch) Bassett, “Julie”, was born August, 1967. Her second daughter, Dorothy Graham Riley (Lynch) Risher, “DeeDee”, was born three years later, on July, 1970. During her years in Jacksonville, DeeDee worked as a teacher, a counselor, and later started a career in the group health insurance industry. DeeDee was a passionate community volunteer, actively involved in the Junior League of Jacksonville and other philanthropic organizations. DeeDee’s insurance career brought her to Atlanta with Julie and DeeDee in 1981. Her career later took her to Wilmington, Delaware and Columbus, Ohio, but she returned to Atlanta in 1998 after the birth of her first grandchild. DeeDee later joined the staff of Peachtree Presbyterian Church, from where she retired in 2009.
DeeDee’s children and grandchildren were the greatest source of joy in her life. When not with her family, DeeDee loved to read. Even as a young child, DeeDee was most often found with her nose in a book. She also loved to travel, and one of her favorite destinations was the beach – any beach. She took great joy in the simple pleasures of burying her toes in the sand, letting the surf wash up on her feet, and feeling the sea breeze tousle her hair. With her grandchildren, DeeDee spent hours building sand castles, never hesitating to plop into the wet sand to sculpt and drip a remarkable sand creation. DeeDee also loved roaming the beach in search of that perfect shell.
DeeDee was preceded in death by her parents, Dorothy Graham Riley and Francis Collins Riley. She is survived by her two daughters, Julia (W. Randall, Jr.) Lynch Bassett and their children, Emily Oliver and Caroline Carmichael, of Atlanta; and Dorothy (Michael R.) Lynch Risher and their children, Michael Willox and Andrew Graham, of Bishop, Georgia. She is also survived by her sisters, Emily Oliver Riley, of Atlanta, and Elizabeth (William A., Jr.) Riley Blodgett, of Louisville, and a niece and nephew.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 11 A.M., Peachtree Presbyterian Church, 3434 Roswell Road, Atlanta. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the Williams Center at the same location.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations DeeDee’s memory be made to LaAmistad Friendship, a ministry of Peachtree Presbyterian Church, 3434 Roswell Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30305, or to Children’s Wish Foundation International, Inc., 8615 Roswell Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30350.
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