John William Riley, 86, Globe reporter, editor
John William ''Bill" Riley, a straightforward, versatile writer whose 51-year career at The Boston Globe included theater criticism, writing about the environment, and editing automotive pieces, died of pneumonia Jan. 7 at Braintree Manor Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Braintree. He was 86 and was recently diagnosed with throat cancer.
''As a reporter, because of his scope of mind, everything he did, he did well," said a former co-worker, retired reporter Mary Meier of New Hampshire. ''He had a universal reach of interesting facts. There was nothing he would not investigate and learn or write about."
Born and raised in Howard Township, Mich., Mr. Riley moved with his family to Massachusetts in 1934. He had aspired to follow in his father's footsteps and attend college after he graduated from Cohasset High School in 1936, but was unable to do so because of the Great Depression. Later in life, he did take numerous courses at the Harvard Extension School, but never earned a degree.
In 1937, Mr. Riley started working as a copy boy and reporter for The Boston Globe, and after two years, he embarked on an 18-year stint as a music and drama critic there.
In 1940, he married the late Ottilie E. (Rains).
During World War II, he joined the Army and served with the Armed Forces Radio Service in Tokyo. In 1946, after completing two years of military service and achieving the rank of sergeant, Mr. Riley returned to his reporting duties at the Globe.
He worked for a year on the city staff before becoming editor of the automotive section in 1958. Eleven years later, he switched to writing about health and science and in 1972 returned to the metropolitan beat and began writing for the ''Ask the Globe" column.
In April 1972, Mr. Riley turned the reporting lens on himself and chronicled his lifelong battle with alcoholism under the pseudonym Morris Trask.
The Globe article, ''In the alcoholic ward: A personal account of the road back," took the reader on an in-depth look at the rehabilitation of a man who referred to his chronic condition as being ''half drunk, half alive."
''I honestly do not know whether I am a social drinker whose temperate pleasures got out of hand or a real Alkie," he wrote. ''The evidence rather points to the latter."
With his intimate reflection on time spent on the alcoholic ward of Brockton Veterans Hospital and the examination of how his dependency developed, he managed to provide readers a human face for the prevalent disease.
''He loved to write and expressed himself best on paper," said his son Richard J. of Quincy. ''He was good at it and knew he was good at it, even without the kind of academic training he could get at college. Dad had this attitude and arrogance that he was brighter than the next one, and in reality he was in lots of ways."
Mr. Riley retired in 1988.
He lived in Quincy for 44 years before entering the nursing home five years ago.
He enjoyed traveling, camping, reading, and woodworking.
''Bill thought of himself as an old curmudgeon, but it wasn't true," said friend and former co-worker Peter Hotton, who writes the Globe's ''Handyman On Call" column. ''He was friendly and responsive to everyone's needs. We had a good time, which is the thing you should do."
In addition to his son Richard, Mr. Riley leaves three other sons, Kevin of Maryland, William of Weymouth, and David of Quincy; three daughters, Kathleen Lape of North Carolina, C. Susan Riley of Arizona, and Lisa Cooney of Braintree; a sister, Joanne Donovan of Connecticut; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A funeral Mass was said Monday in Sacred Heart Church in Quincy. Burial was in Pine Hill Cemetery in Quincy.
