Willie Taylor Burke O'Connor Riehle

Mrs. Willie "Bill" Taylor Burke O'Connor Riehle, 96, of Mt. Airy, went home to be with her Lord Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at Ridge Crest Assisted Living Center. Mrs. Riehle was born in Surry County to the late William Walter and Lucy Taylor Burke on September 22, 1911. She attended Hollins College and graduated from Mary Baldwin College with a major in music. Bill moved to Washington DC in 1936 and worked for the US State Department. There she met Kenneth O'Connor and married in 1940. She transferred to the office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II as an administrative assistant to the scientists developing the atomic bomb. After the war, Bill and Ken moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL, where their sons were born and raised. Bill was an executive secretary for Pine Crest School and Drake College. Ken O'Connor passed away in 1979. Subsequently, Bill met and married another wonderful and loving man, George Riehle. George passed away in 1989. Bill relocated to Mt. Airy in 1998, rejoining her sister and old friends at Ridge Crest Retirement Center. At Ridge Crest, she met many new friends in the residents and staff and dearly treasured those relationships to her final days. Bill was a lifelong traveler with a unique interest in the cultures and history of the people and places she visited. Her adventurous spirit took her to the countries and lands of every continent of the world except Antarctica. Bill was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church in Mt. Airy. As a Christian, her devotion to her Lord and Savior was apparent - a favorite personally highlighted scripture in Bill's Bible was John 3:16. Surviving are two sons and a daughter-in-law, Terence "Terry" Burke O'Connor of Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Rory and Sisti O'Connor of Boise, ID; two granddaughters, Aubrey Virginia O'Connor and Maire Catherine O'Connor; and numerous devoted nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents and husbands, Bill was preceded in death by a sister, Virginia Burke Robertson Jackson; brothers, J. Marion Burke and Edmond S. Burke; and a nephew, Dr. Gil Burke. A memorial service to celebrate her life will be conducted at Ridge Crest at 2:00 PM Thursday, September 18, 2008. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Surry Arts Council, P.O. Box 141, Mt. Airy NC 27030; The Mt. Airy Museum of Regional History, 301 North Main Street, Mt. Airy, NC 27030; or First Presbyterian Church, 326 South Main Street, Mt. Airy, NC 27030.