John Andrew Riker

John A. Riker, Jr., of 101 Brooksby Village Drive, Peabody, MA 01960, formerly of Leonia, NJ, Mountain Lakes, NJ and Boonton Park, NJ, passed away on July 3, 2017 at the age of 89. He was the beloved husband of 64 years to Norma DeLorenzo Riker and loving father to Kimberly of Melrose, MA, Douglas
of Boston, MA, Wayne of Cape May, NJ, and Gregg of Salt Lake City, UT. A devoted grandfather to nine grandchildren, and great-grandfather to four. John was the son of John and Sarah Riker of Fort Lee, NJ and brother of the late Robert Riker, MD, and Thomas Riker of Naples, FL. John and Norma spent most
of their lives in New Jersey, moving to Massachusetts in 2013. John attended Leonia High School in NJ, where he was a standout athlete in football, basketball, track and baseball. As captain of the Leonia football team his senior year in 1945 the school won the state title for their first time ever. Throughout
his high school years, he achieved many school and state records in baseball; his true love in the world of sport. He enlisted in the Navy immediately upon graduation in 1945 and served in the Pacific Theatre. After an honorable discharge in 1946 he played for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball organization before leaving professional baseball to attend Villanova University where he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering. After spending some time working in California he returned to the East Coast to work in construction management of the second Lincoln Tunnel and met his future wife Norma. John and Norma
married in 1953 living in Leonia for a period before moving to Mountain Lakes in 1958 where they raised their four children. John loved fishing, hunting, trap shooting, was a season ticket-holder and avid fan of the NY Jets and NY Rangers and spent as much time as possible at Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island, NJ where he and Norma had a vacation home and a succession of sport fishing boats. John worked as a general contractor owning two businesses, managing construction of dozens of churches, schools and other public buildings throughout the state of New Jersey, finally retiring in 2010. In 1992, John and Norma moved to Boonton Park where they lived until moving to Massachusetts. John will be dearly missed by all those that knew him particularly for his sense of humor, work ethic, love of family and devotion to the Catholic Church. A mass will be held for John on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 9:30am at the
Church of the Madonna, Church on the Hill, 2070 Hoefleys Lane, Fort Lee, NJ followed by a burial service in the adjacent cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to benefit the Boonton Kiwanis First Aid Squad, 150 Lathrop Ave, P.O. Box 16, Boonton, NJ 07005.