ToughTommy.com is the official web site of Tom Riordan, 1940 – 2017

SALEM, OR – Tom Riordan died on Sunday morning, January 22, in Salem, with Eileen, his wife of 54 years, by his side.

One of five children, Tom was born to parents Thomas and Veronica Riordan in Joliet, IL where he attended St. John’s Catholic School for 8 years and graduated from Joliet Catholic High School. He spent 3 years with the U.S. Army, two of them serving in France.

Tom married Eileen Kelly in 1962 and graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston IL in 1968 with a BS in Business. In 1973, Tom and Eileen and their children moved to Oregon and settled in Salem. Tom worked for the State of Oregon in the Corporation Division as a Chief Registration Examiner, later the Public Utility Commission as a Senior Analyst, retiring in 2002.

Tom was a passionate fan of the Northwestern Wildcats football team and the Chicago Cubs (which he was thrilled to see win their first World Series in 108 years in November 2016.) He was a lover of jazz and blues music and a lifetime member of the Oregon Jazz Society, as well as a 35-year member of AA.

Tom and Eileen enjoyed traveling together visiting Ireland, Denmark, Belize, Peru, Mexico, New Zealand, Fiji, and more.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Cheryl Fox. He is survived by his wife Eileen, son Brian, daughter Kelly, three grandchildren Nolan, Connor, Claire, and her wife Kaity, sisters Pat Mentzer, Joan Fenske, brother David, and many many friends.

He will be remembered as a generous member of his community, a loving husband, father and grandfather.

A memorial service celebrating Tom’s life will be held at the Salem Heights Community Hall at 2pm on Saturday, February 18th, located at 3505 Liberty Rd. S in Salem. His ashes will be buried in the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, OR. In lieu of flowers, donations in Tom’s memory may be made to the Salem Union Gospel Mission (345 Commercial St NE, Salem, OR 97301) or the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute (Providence Cancer Center, 4805 NE Glisan St., #2N35 Portland, OR 97213).