‘True Southern lady’ was all about Pasadena
At age 88, Patricia Riley was something of a fixture in Pasadena. She regularly attended City Council meetings. She kept up with numerous social groups.
And so it felt all the more tragic when, at mid-morning on Monday, a man driving a Chevvy pickup fatally struck Riley in the Macroplaza Mall parking lot, a stone’s throw from City Hall. Charges were not immediately filed against the driver.
Riley, who went by Pat, or Patty to her grandchildren, was a former councilwoman and the widow of a former councilman. Her passion was improving the growing suburban city east of Houston she called home. With her signature poof of perfectly curled blonde hair, Riley was easy to spot around town, at the bank or the grocery store or enjoying the Hometown Opry performance.
News of her death rippled quickly through Pasadena. Online, people recalled small moments: helping her pay a bill at T-Mobile, spotting her at Walmart, seeing her driving around the area.
“You’d go out doing something in Pasadena, and you’d run into Pat Riley,” said Councilman Cody Ray Wheeler, who represents her former district. “She was all over the city.”
Riley remained committed to civic life until her death. She embodied the small-town feeling that she cherished — a woman who voiced her opinions, whom everyone seemed to know. The energetic great-grandmother still attended music performances at a local church. She brought decorations to lunches with retirees from the chemical company where her husband worked.
Flor Calderon, a server at a local Golden Corral restaurant, got to know Riley over the years as she came with family and f groups, including her grandmother’s club.
“She was a very active lady,” said Calderon, who recalled seeing her recently — always slender and drinking water instead of coffee — and giving her a hug.
Once, at the local Christian seniors group, she noticed that the clock had been removed. She told President Gene Twitty that he needed to replace it, and, at the next meeting, brought in a clock herself. She saw that it was put up.
“I just can’t picture her not being there because she’s always there,” Twitty said Tuesday, as he prepared remarks in her honor for Wednesday morning’s meeting.
Riley graduated from Pasadena High School in 1947. She worked as a court clerk in Harris County, then as a part-time teacher’s aide with Pasadena ISD. She had two children.
Though she wasn’t born in Pasadena, Riley considered it her home town. She joined the City Council in 1991, after her husband died, and served until 1999. During her last year, she was mayor pro tem.
City Secretary Linda Rorick, who went to work for the city in 1996 and worked for a time as the council’s administrative assistant, recalled Riley’s passion for her district and hands-on approach.
In Rorick’s mind, Riley was a true Southern lady, she said. Riley wrote thank-you notes and dressed impeccably. On patriotic holidays, Rorick could count on Riley wearing red, white and blue.
“She had strongly held convictions,” Rorick recalled. “I would call her feisty, yet gracious.”
Among the places Rorick saw her: the Pasadena Strawberry Festival in the spring, the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo in the fall. And, of course, at City Council meetings. Anyone with anything to do with the city, it seemed, knew her, said Mayor Jeff Wagner. He still has the Batman figurine she gave him after his first meeting in charge.
Councilman Phil Cayten, of District F, sat next to her and recalled her positive focus on issues. District B Councilman Bruce Leamon said he had great respect for her.
“It was a real tragedy and sad day for Pasadena when she passed away,” Leamon said.
Riley ran again for the council in 2009 and in 2015. In the latter election, she faced Wheeler, who said his family came to like her so much that they made her a T-shirt for her campaign. He recalled her frustration with how people considered any resident not born in Pasadena a transient.
“At the end of it,” he said, “Pasadena was her home, and you can’t think of Pasadena without thinking of Pat Riley.”