Glenna May (Blase) Riley

Glenna May (Blase) Riley passed away on May 14, 2023, at the age of 82 in Dracut, MA. She was born in Boston, MA on March 23, 1941, to Henry and Dorothy Blase. She lived many years in a city she loved, Brockton.

Glenna was a kind and compassionate person who dedicated her life to helping children. Her passion for helping children began at an early age, where she was a big sister to girls in orphanages. She continued to help children throughout her life, serving as a bible schoolteacher, emergency foster mom, and volunteer juvenile probation officer. She was also involved in the Girl Scouts, Arnone School Aid, and a Brookfield Parent Liaison.  Glenna ran for the Ward 2 seat on the Brockton Public School Committee, and won by one vote via a grassroots campaign. She served as the Vice Chair of the School Committee in 1995 and had the honor to have her signatures on BHS diplomas that year, the same year her son graduated. Glenna later ran and won election to the Southeast Regional School Committee, a school she was very proud to be a part of.

Glenna was a graduate of Hyde Park High and attended Massasoit Community College where she was striving at a senior age to reach an associate’s degree, and was so proud to be in the honor society.  She had many positions early in her career, one of which was as a Knapp Shoes salesperson and later became a key punch operator trainer.  She was proud to be one of the first female supervisors at Cumberland Farms Computer Department. She decided to give up her career to raise her two children and dedicate her time to helping other children as well.

Glenna worshiped at Covenant Congregational Church in Easton, MA.

Glenna's hobbies included people, and she loved getting to know them, learning from them, and listening to them. She was involved in many groups, including Altrusa, Girl Scouts, Little Red School House, and League of Women Voters. She had a love of dancing, especially the jitterbug, winning a contest in her youth. She loved to spread cheer, and often gave out magnet smiley faces as her calling card.

Glenna is survived by her daughter Glenna McAlpine and her husband Jared McAlpine, her son Collin Riley and his wife Taa Riley, and her beloved granddaughters Lucy and Meta Riley, siblings Richard Blase, Margaret Whitney, and Jane Edwards, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ronald Riley and her parents.

All are welcome to calling hours Tuesday, May 23rd from 5 to 8 p.m. and her funeral service on Wed. May 24th at 11 a.m. at Waitt Funeral Home, 850 North Main St. Brockton, and burial at Knollwood Memorial Park in Canton. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Alzheimer's Association.

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