Riley Harrelson-Bush

Riley was born in Atlanta, GA, in 1953 and shares her name with her great-grandfather, an Iowa farmer. Growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, she remembers a loving and stable family. Riley lived out the experience of the idyllic American family. During WWII, her dad was in the US Army Corps of Engineers and afterward worked as a civil engineer. Riley’s mom was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank before she married Riley’s dad. Afterward, she became a stay-at-home mom. Riley’s upbringing was typical of the 1950s and 1960s, except that she lived in the epicenter of the civil rights movement in Atlanta, GA., and her parents were very engaged in the injustices of that time. Dinner-table conversations with her parents and two sisters would often center on the injustice of people without legal and social equality. Also, during that time, the political leadership of Atlanta was pro civil rights, setting the example for other cities and its own citizens. The cultural upheaval deeply impacted Riley, and her life experiences, along with her natural people skills, contributed to her future choices and education.

Even before college, Riley aspired to be a Social Worker; a desire fueled by family values and life experiences. Despite their years and family roots in Georgia, when Riley was a sophomore in high school, the family moved to Tampa, Florida, for her dad’s work. It was in Tampa that she graduated from high school and moved on to college. Her studies at Eckerd College, a small liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, included a semester-long study abroad program, where Riley enjoyed studying Art History in Florence and London. While there, she saw Michelangelo’s David many times, attended performances in the West End, and traveled around Great Britain. She graduated from Eckerd in 1975 with a minor in psychology and a major in sociology, realizing her dream of becoming a social worker. Riley worked as a social worker in St. Petersburg for 2 years before the state of Georgia called her home.  

Riley’s Georgia home this time was in Savannah, where she stayed for the next 35-plus years, and life played out in the most happy and sad ways. Her social work specialized in child neglect, abuse, and in the foster care system, where she recruited and trained foster parents. The heartbreak and exhaustion of her work were accompanied by the rewards of watching success stories and children rise above life circumstances. Savannah is also where Riley met her husband, got married, and raised her two children. These joys were accompanied by postponing graduate school and turning toward her love for art history and design. Leaning into an entrepreneurial spirit, Riley opened a wallpaper store that expanded into an interior design studio. Employing an on-staff designer, the store offered custom window and bedding treatments and design services. After 20 years of being “owned by the store”, she sold the business and took a few years off. Not “working” for those few years turned into restlessness for high-energy Riley, and she began searching for something to do “for the next 10 years of my work life”. Her natural love for anything to do with houses and homes led her to ask a friend, a certified Real Estate Appraiser, about that field of work. The coursework and a two-year apprenticeship led Riley to owning her own business and obtaining a certification as a Real Estate Appraiser. It was during this phase of life, filled with work and the daily grind, that Riley lost her husband in 2009. True to her innate knowledge that the march of time demands our participation, she continued work and life in Savannah before retiring in 2018. 

After 35-plus years in Savannah, Georgia, she moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where Riley reclaimed her childhood love of camping and hiking in the Appalachian Mountains of NC and Virginia. Now retired, she had time for camping, hiking, and other activities, including travel and volunteer work. As a celebration and retirement gift to herself, Riley made a month-long solo excursion to Ireland, rented a car, and traveled all over the country. She exclaims she fell in love with Ireland, its history, music, and its friendly, fun people. The work she began in Georgia and continues today within the Kairos program for incarcerated women exemplifies her passion for volunteering. Riley lived in Asheville for 3 years before both of her children, by then relocated to Denver, convinced her to move to Colorado. Her daughter is a nurse and works at the VA Hospital, and her son is a sales representative for a medical software company. Finally, relenting to their eager request for Riley to join them, she moved to Denver in July of 2021. And life took a new and exciting turn!

Denver offered mountains, hiking, and a surprising intervention by fate! Having been widowed for 16 years, Riley was happy with her single life. However, within a month of her move to Denver, she met Don Bush, and four years later they got married. This June 1, Don and Riley married and discovered marriage at this stage of life fascinating, with an overall mantra to not “sweat the small stuff”. Don, a full-time professor at Regis University, is also a part-time musician with several local groups. His busy schedule, combined with Riley’s volunteering, means quality apart time and precious shared times as newlyweds. In a new venture, Riley is a Spellbinder Storyteller, whereby she does not read, but instead speaks stories to first graders to expand their literacy and imagination. What a fun and challenging endeavor!

Hiking, camping, and travel remain a big part of Riley’s activities. Her daughter goes several times a week, and she will often join. Additionally, Riley belongs to and hikes with a women’s group that she met when she first moved to Denver. She and Don have a camper. A smile that accompanies the story about their first camping trip together: it was to Michigan and Oregon, took 6 weeks, and involved seeing family. Riley says it was a test of their relationship; they happily passed! Future summers will include adventures on the Colorado lakes in their new 22-foot sailboat. Travel, other than visiting most of the United States and the National Parks, the Caribbean, the Virgin Islands, and many exciting venues. Some favorite trips include traveling with her children to the Andalusia area of Spain, Barcelona, Tuscany, Umbria, and Venice. Also, in 2023, she and her sister spent time in Paris, including a driving tour to Normandy and the Provence area. This year, 2025, Riley spent two weeks in Sicily, a separate trip to Switzerland that included gorgeous hikes in the mountains above St Moritz and near Zermatt, and will end the year in Japan for two weeks. The future holds great times for Riley and Don as she exclaims, “There are a lot more places I want to go!”. 

Never at a loss for things to do, Riley likes to read and cook, attends a weekly meditation group, and is learning to play Mah-Jongg. A two-year resident of the Conifer area and a second-year member of CN&N, she is a member of our book club, hikes with our Tuesday hiking group, and this year is helping with the Holiday Boutique. Riley believes in the medical fact proven by clinical trials and research: growing old happens when one stops learning, engaging with people, and loving life.

Go, Riley! Grow!