Bio
Riley was born March 18, 1887 on a farm near Morrison, Illinois in Whiteside County and died in Pasadena, California in 1953. She lived for a good portion of her life in Evanston, Illinois, from 1898 until 1931, where she raised her children and wrote children's lyrics, plays, operettas, and stories.
Riley was raised by strict parents who did not encourage her or her sisters to dance or play cards at home. Instead they amused themselves with housework and games such as authors, dominoes, and jack-straws. However, music always filled her house as her father played the cello and sang tenor in the church choir, while her sisters played the piano and sang. Even as a very young child she enjoyed the excitement of getting dressed up in a new outfit for a trip into the village square.
At age 16 she saw her first play, Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser, performed by Gilmore’s Band at the local opera house, which excited her enormously. Her interest in drama became well established and secured a lifelong interest in the arts.
Along with a passion for drama, Riley developed a keen interest in gardening at a very young age. Her ailing grandfather lived with the Riley family from when she was six years old until his death, and he demanded she tend the garden with him.
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