Eleanor M. Riordan's Obituary
Eleanor Mayo Riordan passed away peacefully at her home at Spring Arbor Assisted Living on February 18, 2025. She was 99 years old.
Eleanor was born in Baltimore in 1925 to the late John and Sara Ficke. She attended the University of Maryland and graduated from Nursing School as an RN in 1950.
In 1945 she married her husband, Wayne Riordan. Wayne and Eleanor moved to California where they lived for twelve years and had six of their eight children. In 1961 They moved back to the East Coast where they settled in Bowie, MD, and had their last two children. Eleanor worked at Prince George’s Hospital, Glenn Dale Hospital, and Anne Arundel Medical Center. The Riordans moved to Annapolis in 1977. Eleanor worked in the ER, Special Care, and for many years in Postpartum on the Labor & Delivery floor. She won awards for her work in Pediatrics; she loved caring for women and babies post-delivery. Eleanor retired from nursing in 1987.
In 1990, the Riordans moved to Heritage Harbor. Not one to sit still, Eleanor eventually worked for the Anne Arundel County Library Headquarters, retiring from there in her 90s. In retirement, she took art history classes. She loved classical music and the theater. She loved sending emails to stay in touch with family and online banking. She was not afraid to keep up with the times although she was not fond of social media or having her picture taken. She tended to many of her neighbors in Heritage Harbor and developed long lasting friendships.
Eleanor engaged in learning, reading, and discussing ideas from books and current events. She loved her Washinton Post crossword puzzle, the beach, and traveling. What Eleanor loved most was time spent with her family and friends, the experience of shared conversation and babies running around was her favorite chaos. We will all hold the picture of family and friends around the kitchen table talking about everything under the sun and listening as she shared her perspective and wisdom. She loved to cook and feed whoever dropped by. Eleanor kept her wry sense of humor to the end.
She was predeceased by her husband of 67 years, Wayne in 2012. She is survived by her eight children: Margorie Vogel (Robert), Nancy Kessinger, Mark Riordan (Julia), Mary Sparr (Rodney), Donald Riordan (Katholyn), Kevin Riordan (Karen), Ann Taliaferro (Jeffrey) and Barbara Morgan (Jay) as well as, 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, and friends.
A gathering will be held at Lasting Tributes 814 Bestgate Road, Annapolis MD 21401 on Saturday, March 8th at 10:30 am with a memorial service beginning at 12:30.
In Lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate to your favorite Charity, Historic Goshen Farm goshenfarm.org, or Hospice of the Chesapeake www.hospicechesapeake.org, to whom we are forever grateful.
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