Thomas J. Riley, Jr., 79, of East Wareham, passed away at Tobey Hospital on Thursday April 16, 2020. Thomas was the husband of Marie F. (Johnson) Riley also of East Wareham. He was born on January 25, 1941, in Boston, MA, the son of the late Thomas J. and June (Rose) Riley, Sr. 

He attended Boston Public Schools and grew up in the Fenway area of Boston. In his youth he earned the respect of the gate attendants at Fenway Park and never missed a game. 

He graduated from Boston Tech and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving during the Vietnam War. It was in the Air Force that Tom expanded his knowledge in communications. He worked with the 1st Airforce Computer that seemed endless in size and generated enough heat to heat a small community. 

Tom was honorably discharged from the Air Force and became a Central Office Technician for New England Telephone & Telegraph, Verizon, Nynex, Cellular One, Cingular Wireless and AT & T Wireless. His work started with the installation of the 1st electronic switching system in New England and ended more than 45 years later disassembling the same (5ESS) systems, which were shipped to less developed Countries. He was a member of IBEW Local 2222 at New England Telephone and Communications Workers of America local 1298 at Cellular One. He was never afraid to tackle a new job or endeavor and he was a jack of all trades around the house.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children: James Riley and his wife Christine of Quincy, Cheryl White and her husband Roy Hopgood of New Hampshire and Jeanette M. Scibilio of Quincy. He is also survived by 5 grandchildren and many loving nieces, nephews relatives and friends. He is the father of the late Dawn Marie Riley.

Due to social distancing restrictions funeral services will be private with burial in the Massachusetts National Cemetery. In memory of Thomas please consider a gift to your local food bank. To leave a message of condolence for the family please visit www.warehamvillagefuneralhome.com Funeral Arrangements are in the care of Wareham Village Funeral Home 5 Center Street Wareham.