Denise Riley

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — Denise Mellanease Riley, 64, died May 12, 2019 at her home. 

Born Feb. 24, 1955, in Gary, Ind., daughter of the late John Wesley Riley and Marion Elizabeth Thompson Riley. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in Gary and Chicago Realty and became a mortgage loan officer. She was a member of The Israel of God Church in Sikeston.

Her husband, Dexter Dennis, preceded her in death in 2011.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by four sisters, Conelia Riley, Willa Mae Riley, Demetria Perkins and Elizabeth Trimble.

Survivors include: a granddaughter with whom she lived, Ashston Jackson of East Prairie; three sons and one daughter-law, TaRay and Agnes Riley of Orlando, Fla., Rondell Pippins of Perryville and Spencer Riley of Chicago; one daughter and son-in-law, Nikishia and Keith Young of Snellville, Ga.; one brother, Marshall Lee of Dothan, Ala.; seven sisters, Aishah Graffer of Long Beach, Calif., Barbara Jenkins of Valrico, Fla., Beverly Riley and Sonja Riley, of Tampa, Fla., Deborah Norman of Minneapolis, Jacqueline Ingram of Charleston and Pamela Hemphill of Perryville; and 17 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Visitation is from 11 a.m. until service time a 1 p.m. Friday at the Williams Funeral Home in Charleston.

A memorial service will be from noon until 2 p.m. Sunday at The Israel of God in Sikeston.