A fixture with his dog, Arnie, on Ewing Road in Collier
Bill Riddle, who saw almost as many waves as the Jersey Shore on his daily dog walks on Ewing Road in Collier, died Thursday afternoon.
He was 87. He fractured six ribs in a fall in early August, then contracted pneumonia, said his brother, Don.
Bill Riddle called his little black dog, Arnie Fonzarelli, “the Duke of Cubbage Hill,’’ telling the Post-Gazette in 2008 that Arnie was “the best walking dog I ever had, and had the worst disposition with kids and people. I’m glad he’s getting old.’’
In their prime, Mr. Riddle and his sidekick walked 1,000 miles a year. He always wore a hat, and on most rainy days it was a battered Stetson that was a gift to his “Pappy’’ from the legendary brawling Steelers quarterback of the early ’60s, Bobby Layne.
Mr. Riddle waved to each passing car. About nine of 10 people in those cars waved back. Jim Nelson, who enjoyed seeing the dawdling duo before facing the Parkway West for his morning commute Downtown, said in 2008:
“He stops and he just waves, and he’s got this smile. If you toot the horn, you get a better wave.’’
Arnie preceded Mr. Riddle in death years ago. Mr. Riddle walked without him for a while but had to stop three or four years ago because of declining health, Don Riddle said.
A retired construction worker and Army veteran, Mr. Riddle and his wife of 52 years, Josephine, had lived in the Carnegie neighborhood of Cubbage Hill for nearly four decades before moving to Collier in 2007.
He said in 2008 he was “very strong on keeping out of the hospital,’’ and at that time hadn’t had to lie down in one since having a cyst removed 56 years before. He ascribed his good health to avoiding tobacco, alcohol and gambling, and to going to church twice each Sunday.
“I take the wife down and drop her off and then I go back and pick her up.’’
Before Arnie Fonzarelli was at the end of his leash, there was Major, who was even smaller and died at 18 in 1998. Neighbors found Arnie walking down a road in Claysville and brought him to Mr. Riddle.
He said in 2008 he’d keep walking as long as he stayed on the proper side of the Eline, the white stripe that separated the road from the shoulder, which he named for the personal injury lawyer Edgar Snyder.
He did stay on the good side of the E-line but Father Time caught him after, as he liked to tally it, he celebrated his 39th birthday for the 49th time. He died Thursday afternoon with his wife, brother and brother’s wife by his side. The Glenn Miller music he loved was playing near his ear.
“He was a great guy and I’m going to miss him a ton,’’ Don Riddle, 81, said.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Sept. 16 at Holy Souls Cemetery in Robinson. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or a favorite charity. Somma Funeral Home in Robinson is handling arrangements.