Joseph F. Riga, athlete, artist, attorney, and ‘just the best,’ has died at 61
He was “goofy and gregarious,” said his daughter Kate. “He was smart and artistic,” said his wife, Colleen. “He was a Renaissance man.”
Joseph F. Riga, 61, of Narberth, lifelong artist, builder, runner, bicyclist, youth coach, old-man basketball enthusiast, family man extraordinaire, and attorney at McDowell Law, died Saturday, June 21, of injuries sustained after he was hit by a car during a bicycle ride event in Bart Township, Lancaster County.
Born and reared in Buffalo, N.Y., and a graduate of Boston College Law School, Mr. Riga and his then-girlfriend, Colleen Maher, came to Philadelphia in 1989 as new hires in the same department at the law firm of Drinker, Biddle, & Reath. They secretly kept dating, got married three years later, moved from Center City to Narberth in 1998, and together reared two daughters and a son.
For nearly 40 years, away from work and with his family, which is where he liked it best, Mr. Riga was “goofy and gregarious,” said his daughter Kate. “He was smart and artistic,” his wife said. “He was a Renaissance man.”
Mr. Riga could build anything, his family said. He painted colorful murals on their bedroom walls, made elaborate sets for school plays and charity fundraisers, and put up a deck on the back of the house.
In high school, he ran track and played basketball. More recently, he ran in marathons and triathlons, rode in all sorts of bicycle events, and founded the Narberth Friday night Old Man Hoops Basketball League 25 years ago.
“He was a constant presence,” one of his basketball friends said in a tribute. “He knew what it meant to everyone to forget about the world for a while and just play.”
“He was just fun to be around,” his wife said. His daughter Kate said: “He was just the best.”
At work, Mr. Riga focused on bankruptcy and foreclosure cases, and he spent time after Drinker with several law firms. In 1996, he earned a master of laws degree from the New York University School of Law after a clerkship in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was of counsel at McDowell Law since 2020.
He wrote legal articles and book chapters that were published in the Seton Hall Law Review, the hardcover Chapter 11 Theory and Practice, and elsewhere. In online tributes, friends and colleagues said he was “kind, loving, and caring,” “a treasure that has no measure,” and “the kind of person who always shows up, helps out, and supports his friends.”
One friend said: “The time we all shared with him changed us for the better.”
Joseph Francis Riga was born April 13, 1964. In elementary school, he put three entries into a “Be Kind to Animals” poster contest and won first-, second-, and third-place prizes.
In college, he wrote a children’s play and learned to love Ultimate Frisbee. As a senior, he was editor of the Boston College International and Comparative Law Review.
“He was just so clever,” said his brother John. “He was good at everything,” said his brother Frank.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in math and computer science at Boston College in 1986 and his law degree in 1989. He met his wife in law school, and she said she was “smitten” from the start.
They talked for hours that first night. He walked her home, and they kissed. “He was the best person I ever met,” she said.
They got married in 1992 at Old St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, lived in Society Hill and on Quince Street in Center City, and had daughters Kate and Plum and a son, Mac.
Mr. Riga was funny and playful, his family said. He liked games and quizzes, and he coached his children in basketball, soccer, and track. They said he shared the “coolest music taste a dad has ever had.”
He told old stories of acting in high school plays and enjoyed seeing his children on the stage. He held hands with his wife on walks around town and happily took everyone to the movies, concerts, and Phillies games.
They called him the “glue” of the family and “an exuberant, generous, vital force for good.” His daughter Kate said: “My dad was my favorite person.”
His wife said: “He drew people together. It was his instinct to be kind and generous. He was such a great guy.”
In addition to his wife, children, and brothers, Mr. Riga is survived by his father, Frank, son-in-law JJ, two sisters, and other relatives.
Services were held June 26 and 27 at St. Margaret Church in Narberth.