Bill Riordan came into this world in fine fashion, he was born on Mother’s day, May 10,1964 in Evergreen Park, IL, a south-sider to the core. Since his well timed entrance, he had a golden touch from day one.

He had an ideal childhood, hopping the fence at Evergreen Park golf course, riding bikes in the neighborhood, baseball games in the nearby sandlot, lunches at Rosangela’s Pizza and trips to Aqua pool. Early on, he had a knack for business building his own lawn care business with over 15 lawns and nailed down the paper route at Little Company of Mary hospital, a prized position. When tipped, he could tell the difference between a silver dollar coin vs a regular by the sound of its clink in his pocket.

His agility and speed earned him recognition at Brother Rice high school and where he still holds the record for the 4-man relay team. He proudly would remind his family that the shrine is forever displayed in the lobby of the school.

Bill received a finance degree from Northern IL University, worked at Arrow Equipment Co., a company his father and uncle started and later joined Robert J Riordan & Co. in the 90s where he began his career as an insurance professional.

Bill’s passion and attention to detail made him a stand out as an insurance broker.

Insurance companies were partners; clients became friends and employees were family.     

In 1989, he met the love of his life, Jennifer Burden from Evanston, on a blind date set up by a friend who just had a hunch. They married on November 28, 1992 and settled down in Glenview and where they became active members in OLPH parish. He still holds the men’s club record of raising the most money in one calendar year and was honored with the Zanoni award for that accomplishment. His work ethic and appreciation for a well earned dollar goes back to his first paper route.

Bill’s biggest legacy is his three children, Patrick, Erin and Maggie. Each of them has inherited his warm fun loving spirit and twinkle in their eyes. His spirit will live on as they will continue to make him proud by doing the right thing, enjoying the right song for the moment and finding a laugh along the way.

He will be dearly missed but his love will live on. He is and forever will be our marathon runner going the distance for all!

“The measure of a man is not how much he loves but how much he is loved by others.”