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A Torch Bearer Returns Home
Lola Belle Jones
Riley, beloved mother and teacher, passed away on January 4, 2007. She
was born in Union, Mississippi on June 27, 1916. She graduated from Lynn
High School where she played varsity basketball and attended both
Morehead Jr. College and State Charity Hospital of New Orleans Nursing
School. In 1940 she married Marion Riley, a minister. While Marion was
in divinity school in New Orleans, Lola began her career as a soprano
soloist. She was well known throughout the South as a soloist for
religious events. In addition to her roles as minister's wife and
mother, music continued to be an important part of her life both as a
soloist and a choir director. In 1946, her adored son Bert died. She
wrote a beautiful poem about him that was published. Part of this poem
is on his gravestone: "Father, in thy gracious keeping, leave we now our
darling sleeping." In 1964, at the age of 48, Lola returned to college
at Texas Western College and graduated from University of Texas at El
Paso in 1969. She taught for the Socorro and Ysleta _________________________________ Lola Belle Riley: Teacher, Singer, Preacher, Prophet, and Extravagant Servant of God. “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” -Psalm 16:9-11
“Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of His
saints. O Lord, truly I am
your servant; I am your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have
loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and
will call upon the name of the
Lord. Never have I seen a time when this Psalm is so true. Everything about Mrs. Riley’s life was connected to the life of Jesus. · Her birth and hidden life in humility in the South, the daughter of a Baptist minister. · Her desert: Planting a church in Salt Lake City, Utah · Her life as a rejected preacher: For Lola, following Jesus meant breaking with her religious tradition and she bore it with joy. · Her suffering and death: When I first met Mrs. Riley 15 years ago, she would often touch my face and pray for me. I could feel her soft fingers trembling from what she called the “anointing of the Holy Ghost.” Years later, she suffered a stroke, and her hands trembled all of the time, and when she prayed for me, I couldn’t tell if her hands shook from the Holy Ghost or from the stroke because her joy and suffering had become one. · Her resurrection: Mrs. Riley welcomed death as a friend because she was absolutely confident that her death was her homecoming; a return to her origin in God. In her later years, in her absolute weakness and sickness, heaven became a greater and clearer reality than the world around us. · Her spirit: Mrs. Riley’s suffering in her later years was a ministry of intercessory prayer. She now prays unhindered and with absolute clarity. Her ministry continues and we carry her mantle: overcoming the grief of this world with a song, believing boldly, and crying fully.
-David |
Independent
School Districts. She retired after teaching at Loma Terrace Elementary
for many years. During these years, Lola began taking art lessons and
painting, which she continued until her final years. After retirement,
she stayed active in religious events, worked with the Carolina Senior
Center, and spent time with her family. She is survived by three
children: Bill Riley of El Paso, TX; Bobbie Greenawald (and her husband
COL W. E. Greenawald) of Quantico, VA; Elisabeth Riley of Tallahassee,
FL; one sister, Mrs. Georgina Romine of Indianola, MS.