C. Janeway Riley

Born July 18, 1936, C. Janeway Riley entered eternal life on December 15, 2022 after a hard fought battle with mesentery cancer.

Janeway was a loving mother of five and a pillar of strength for each. She was a wonderful homemaker with recipes that remain in demand. She was a great hostess of holiday dinners, an annual New Year’s Day party, and loved entertaining family and friends while preparing Sunday gourmet dinners. Janeway coupled her homemaking skills with her beauty and was crowned Mrs. Wisconsin 1966. She answered the demands of life by becoming a shrewd businesswoman. In the 70’s she founded a successful real estate firm, Janeway Real Estate. She later earned her stock brokerage license. Upon retirement, she returned to college to finish her undergraduate degree in Art. She opened an art studio and became an accomplished sculptor, painter, and sketch artist. She was certified in forensic facial reconstruction. She created several commissioned, life-sized sculptures cast in bronze. She fearlessly enjoyed scuba diving in the Caribbean and on one adventure she collected specimens for the New England Aquarium. She enjoyed tournament tennis and once won a ladies doubles championship while both she and her teammate were very pregnant. She was an avid gardener with show stopping gardens of flowers that surrounded her home. She enjoyed traveling and live theater; she graced many bridge groups with her competitive spirit. She proclaimed that giving life to her five children and raising them to be independent was her greatest accomplishment. She often quoted, “Success is not so much the result of talent, but of effort, determination and interest”. Most notable was her whimsical expression of goodbye. Undoubtedly, she is saying it now, “I kiss your face and hug your body!”

She is survived by her children, Elizabeth Meier (Andy), Phillip Murphy (Irene), Peter Murphy, John Murphy (Laura), Leigh Murphy, and 17 grandchildren; and by her Riley stepchildren Katie, Buffy, Allie, Annie and Peter and their children.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her brother John McCann and sister-in-law Ginny McCann, by her late husband Stevens L. Riley, her first husband Peter Murphy, her infant sons Paul and Matthew.

Janeway’s Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Charles Catholic Church (313 Circle Drive), Hartland, WI at 11:30 am on Friday, January 6th, 2023. Family and friends are invited to pray the Rosary beginning at 10:00 am in the church sanctuary with visitation immediately following in the church narthex at 10:30 am. The Mass will be live streamed on the parish website, https://parish.stcharleshartland.com. Due to construction the church kindly request visitors park in the Northeast Parking Lot.

Burial will be at Forest Hill Cemetery in Eau Claire, WI at a date yet to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to St. Charles Catholic Church or a charity of choice.