YOUR AD HERE »

Michael Riley

1939 — 2018

Michael Riley died on May 30th in La Jolla, California. of heart failure and its complications. He was born in December, 1939, in Chicago and grew up in Glenview, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois and received his MBA at the University of California, Berkley.

His San Francisco work in financial consulting and as CFO for a large transportation holding company eventually took him and his family to Europe where he lived in Holland and worked throughout Europe and the Middle East. He later moved to the Cotswolds in England where he hatched his plan to create his “Best of All Worlds” in Aspen. His concept was a store offering all artisanal goods of the highest order, from European and Scandinavian artists and craftsmen. He sourced and imported the goods directly and it gave him great enjoyment to meet and become friends with so many artists and craftsmen, as well as the many customers of The Best of All Worlds store.

He loved Aspen and its people, his years of working for The Aspen Music Festival, the chance to build his own post and beam house with the help of good friends and so much more. After 18 years he and his wife, Linnea, concentrated on their Poster Calendar Business and moved to Seattle where there was more printing support, and years later, retired to San Diego.

Michael was a man of kindness and wit and always eager to help his friends, employees, customers and even strangers….and he was so well loved, by so many, in return.

He is survived by his wife, Linnea, daughter Johanna Riley and her children Alex and Anna, daughter Katie Riley Nakamura, her husband Bruce and their children Rachel, Erin and Robin, as well as by his brother Paul Riley and his sister Sue Zanzarella.


Michael always wanted to live so as to have no regrets or leave any adventure untaken. He did it. Good Job, Michael!