Riley Eugene Jack McCarthy
October 11, 1990 - March 27, 2011
Obituary
Riley Eugene Jack McCarthy was born October 11, 1990 in Seattle, Washington. He was raised in Tukwila, Washington where he spent his childhood exploring the outdoors and laying the groundwork for athletic endeavors that included skateboarding, freestyle BMX biking, skiing then snowboarding, hiking, running 3 marathons, wrestling and baseball. He was a student in the Tukwila School District where he excelled in the sciences. He had a love for the natural world and this interest extended into the classroom. Riley was a fourth generation graduate from Foster High School and went onto the University Washington in 2009 where he joined Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. He continued his studies of the sciences and intended to major in Industrial Engineering. When he wasn’t studying or participating in fraternity functions he continued to pursue his love of freestyle BMX and snowboarding.
Riley was taken from us on March 27, 2011 after being caught in an avalanche while snowboarding at Stevens Pass. He was doing what he loved on an epic day in the mountains.
Riley is survived by his father John McCarthy, mother Peggy McCarthy, brother Michael, sisters Erin and Kerry, grandmothers Helen Ives and Dorothy Miller.
He will forever be remembered for his incredible sense of humor, compassion for others, humbleness, unselfishness, intelligence, kindness, passion for life, sense of adventure and his overwhelming love for his friends and especially his family. Riley was a loving son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and fraternity brother. He will forever be missed.
Riley We Love You!!!!
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following:
The Riley McCarthy Memorial Scholarship Fund, University of Washington, Box 351266, Seattle, WA. 98195-1266
or donate online gifts: giving.uw.edu/riley
or The Riley McCarthy Memorial Scholarship at BECU,
or the Stevens Pass Ski Patrol.
Peggy, John and Family,
Our most sincere condolences to you in the loss of Riley who we were fortunate enough to glimpse in a cross country race several years ago. You are in our thoughts. Joel and Susan Gregory.
John & Peggy ~
We are so very sorry to hear of your loss. The entire Vela family
wish to extend our sincere condolances.
When I saw Riley’s picture I was struck to see how he looked so much like his father, my friend John.
Our thought and prayers are with you and your families..
Peace
~Mario & Jennifer Vela
John,Peggy and family, I am very sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Dear John and Peggy,
I am so sorry for your loss. May the love and prayers of friends and family bring you peace and comfort today and the days ahead.
With my deepest sympathy,
I cried when I heard the tragic news and, again, I cry while I write this. I simply cannot imagine your loss, your pain. I can only offer the support and comfort you might find through our friendship. Riley was an amazing individual; a direct result of his parents love and devotion.
He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
I can’t stop thinking about that trip to DC, and how Riley kept me laughing the entire time. What a great child, and a great young man…his loss will be felt by all of us. We are thinking of all of you now, and hoping that you remember the happiness that Riley brought to so many people.
John, Peggy and Family: Geri and I send our love and support during this very difficult time. We never got to meet Riley but the picture that family & friends paint of him is one of a loving free spirit, something this world needs more of. He will be greatly missed.
Our most sincere sympathies for your loss. Our thoughts are with you.
Dear John, Peggy and Family,
I was so saddened to hear of the loss of your Riley.
I pray the love of God enfolds you during your journey through grief.
I send you thoughts of comfort.
God bless.
Toni Vela Wildoner
John, Peggy and Family,
We are very saddened by the tragic loss of Riley! He was a good person and obviously a loved family member. We trust that you will cherish the many great memories you have of Riley and pray that the strength of your family will give each of you the support you will need to deal with this loss!
We send our condolences with much sadness for you and your family. The loss of a Loved One is always sad, however the loss of your child has to be the most difficult. You are in our Thoughts and Prayers.
Love Karen and Dick
To Riley’s Mom & Dad and McCarthy Family,
You do not know me and I did not know your son Riley but I read the newspaper article about the tragic avalanche and my heart goes out to you. Please know that I feel your loss, your grief & sorrow to the bottom of my heart & soul. I too lost a snowboarder son & BMX rider to an avalanche. There are several similarities in our sons. My thoughts & prayers are with you as you journey the days ahead. No words can express such a loss, and unfortunately no short cuts can avoid the tears & grieving…but hopefully you will find some solace in knowing you will be able to remember Riley with a Smile in your heart and all the beautiful memories of him will live on. God Bless You.
Craig Kelly’s Mom
…I would love to hear from you… hansenjm@msn.com
Peggy, John, Michael, Erin, and Kerry,
I was deeply saddened to hear of Riley’s passing. My son, Sal Palmisano, was a fraternity brother of Riley’s and also a fellow snowboarder who went to Whistler with him. While I never had the opportunity to meet Riley, my son has had only wonderful things to say about him. He will be greatly missed by his frat brothers as I’m sure you are already aware. My heart goes out to all of you in this most tragic time.
Eleanor Ryan
John,Peggy,Michael,Erin and Kerry. My deepest sympathy goes out to all of you, I will keep you in my prayers that God would watch over you, Jesus hold you and the Holy Spirit comfort you now and always. Riley as you know was special and very angelic, God must have needed him, he touched so many lives and left such a legacy of how to live life,I am one of the many that was blessed to know him. God Bless, Leona, Amberlyn’s Mom
Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this very sad time. Riley sounds like an incredible young man.
Shannon Forbes and the entire Forbes Family.
To the McCarthy family,
I had the pleasure of working with Riley at a couple of the Seahawks games last season. What a very nice young man with an infectiuos smile. I was so saddened to hear the news of this loss and words can’t even begin to help the heartache you must now have. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Dorin Lau
From the 1st day of my work at the old Tukwila Library to today I have watched many children grow up passing through the doors to new adventures. Riley was one of many. I can still remember him coming to the desk to check out his books and peering up the desk was big with his bright eyes and soft smile. He was quite shy at that time. I send my deepest sympathies from myself to his brother and sister’s, mom & dad.
My name is Laurie and I skiied and worked at Stevens Pass for many, many years. I may or may not have encountered your Riley there, but as I am sure you have learned, we are all family on the mountain. It’s kind of hard for me to explain sometimes, but from your remembrance of him, I think you understand. All blessings to you and yours.
As teachers in the Tukwila School District we have had the opportunity to work with and know many in your extended family. What wonderful people and even though we never knew Riley we know he must have been a fine young man. And having lost our first born son to an accident we know the pain you feel now. Only time will help to ease the loss you feel now. God bless.
McCarthy Family we cannot begin to understand the sadness you feel losing your wonderful Riley, only God knows why he needed to bring Riley to heaven so early. We remember the little boy with the bright eyes who loved to ride in the bus with the girls softball team on trips and how much fun it was to have him along. We’re not surprised about what a wonderful young man he became and hope that somehow you can find some comfort from all the love we all feel for Riley for just having our few moments with him. God Bless your family.
John, Peggy and family. We send our deepest condolences to your family during this very difficult time. Know that you are in our thoughts. He was a very sweet young man. Sincerely,
John and Peggy Munns
Dear John and Peggy, I am so very sorry to hear of the passing of Riley. My thoughts and prayers are with you and the family.
Dear John, Peggy, and Family-
We are deeply saddened to hear of your loss. Just want your family to know that our thoughts and prayers are with all of you. He will truly be missed by many. God bless.
To: The McCarthy Family
We are so sorry to here of your loss. Our prayers are with your family.
Peggy and family – my heart goes out to you all at this time of unimaginable loss. Riley truly will be forever missed.
My heart goes out to all of the mccarthy family.
Dear Peggy & John & family. I wanted to let you know how very sorry I am for your loss. I am keeping you all close to my heart, thoughts and prayers. Peggy, as you know I share in your grief and would like to help in anyway I can. Love Margie
Dear John, Peggy and family,
I cannot express the sorrow I feel for your loss. I know that all of you are devastated. I wish there was something I could do to ease your pain. I am so, so sorry.
Peggy and John, you are in my prayers and thoughts during this time of loss. I’ve heard what a wonderful young man Riley was. This is no surprise with such wonderful role models. Blessings to you and your family. Mary Thurston Robinson
My thoughts & prayers are with you and your family. Remember the shared moments and cherish them.
My sincere condolences to the family. The death of a child is devastating. Jehovah God himself will sustain you. May He bring you comfort during your time of great distress. Psalm 55:22
i’m very sorry for your loss, Riley was the nicest guys I’ve ever met. So inspiring when i rode BMX with him, he still is and i’ll never forget him.
Search Light Moms wants to tell you how sorry we are for the passing of your Riley. If there is anything that we can do for you please let us know. We as mothers understand the day to day pain as we search for answers.
Love and Blessings,
Search Light Moms
http://www.slmoms.com
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