Posted on 01/29/2020
Michael Joseph Riley (March 14, 1943 - January 25, 2020)
Michael Joseph Riley, Venice, FL, resident and former CEO of Cutler Manufacturing in Lakeland, FL, passed away on January 25, 2020, in Wells, ME.
Michael was born on March 14, 1943 in Rochester, NH, and grew up in Somersworth, NH, where he graduated from Somersworth High School in 1961 after starting a student council and serving as its first president. He was appointed by Senator Stiles Bridges to the U.S. Naval Academy and reported to Annapolis five days after high school graduation.
He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1965 and flew P-2 airplanes in the Philippines and Camron Bay, South Vietnam, from October 1967 to May 1968. He flew during the TET offensive of 1968, and received the Air Medal. He was then assigned to teach Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape to Navy Pilots and Seals at NAS Brunswick, ME. He left the Navy in 1970 to pursue a career in business.
He married Nancy Mason in 1970, and they moved to Los Angeles, CA where he obtained an MBA from the University of Southern California in 1972. Following this, Michael attended Harvard University in 1977 to earn his Doctorate of Business Administration. The family moved to Glastonbury, CT, where Michael worked at Northeast Utilities and taught for the University of Connecticut in their MBA program.
In 1983 the family moved to Birmingham, MI, where Michael worked as Treasurer of Michigan Bell Telephone Company. In 1985, Michael moved to United Airlines as SVP and CFO, living in Barrington, IL. In 1987, they moved to Bettendorf, IA, where Michael worked as CFO of Lee Enterprises, a newspaper and TV company.
In 1993, Michael became SVP and CFO of the U.S. Postal Service, moving the family to Virginia. He retired from the Postal Service in 1998, and worked as CEO of Cutler Manufacturing in Lakeland, FL, during 1999 and 2000. The family then returned to Virginia and Michael started a consulting business. He taught part time at George Mason University, and became a full-time professor at the University of Maryland University College in 2003.
He is survived by his wife Nancy; his sons Shawn, Paul, and James; and his daughter Sarah; and grandchildren Katherine, John, William, Thomas and Logan Michael.
A Memorial Service with military honors will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer Street, Kennebunk, ME. Should friends choose, memorial donations in his name are encouraged to: National Blood Clot Alliance, 267 Kentlands Blvd., #2025, Gaithersburg, MD 20878 (www.stoptheclot.org).
To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, please visit Michael's Book of Memories Page at www.bibberfuneral.com.
Arrangements are in care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer Street, Kennebunk, ME 04043.
Published in Herald Tribune from Jan. 29 to Jan. 30, 2020