Stancel Martin Riley Jr. MD, MPA, MPH was a passionate surgeon, husband, caring father and grandfather of multiple communities. He is a dear and loyal friend to many, described as a gentleman of rare genius and humility. He passed away suddenly, Saturday November 20th.
He was born to Gladys and Stancel Riley Sr. of Bessemer, AL where he graduated from Hueytown High School in 1965 before attending the University of Alabama graduating in 1968. He then pursued his dreams of becoming a doctor and attending UAB where he graduated in 1972 and eventually studying under world-renowned heart surgeon John Kirklin.
Stancel was committed to learning, teaching, and mentoring his whole life. That love of education led him to study around the world including Germany, England, and various places in the States. His passion for education was so important to him that it led him to generously contribute to many people’s various educations.
He served his country with the United States Army where he first practiced as a physician.
In 1981 he formed the first group of concentrated skilled surgeons focusing on providing North Alabama with the highest quality cardiothoracic equipment and surgeries, Huntsville Cardiothoracic Surgeons. On November 4,1981, Dr. Riley performed the very first open heart surgery in Huntsville. This group performed over 40,000 heart surgeries which put Huntsville’s heart surgery program on the map as the leading place in North Alabama and Southern Tennessee to have such surgeries performed.
In addition to caring for patients in the hospital, he taught cooking classes after surgery to improve his patients’ outcomes through diet and nutrition.
After an immensely successful career as a cardiothoracic surgeon in the Huntsville community, he ventured to pursue a dream he always had of attending Harvard. At Harvard he studied Leadership and Strategy at the Kennedy School (2004) then on to the Harvard’s School of Public Health (2005). During this time, he taught leadership classes at Emerson College, which ultimately led to him becoming the Executive Director of the Board of Registration in Medicine for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.(2012)
He then taught patient-doctor communication at Harvard Medical School. (2017)
After retiring completely from his professional career, he then began volunteering and mentoring in his
home communities. Among one of his favorites was providing his knowledge to Big Sky, MT, where he tutored kids in science and math at the local high school. Big Sky was considered a second home to him, creating traditions with family and friends which became one of the most meaningful things in his life.
He came home to Huntsville where he continued regularly volunteering his service as a physician for The Community Free Clinic.
His hobbies included hiking, fly-fishing, and skiing in Montana. He also enjoyed trying out new recipes for friends and family.
He is survived by his wife Fran Riley, four kids, Stancel Riley III, Richard Riley and wife Shannon, Hilary Foreman and husband John, Tonja Bridges and husband Jim; two step sons Chase Ward and Tanner Ward and wife Alexa and seventeen grandchildren, Chase, Brook, Drew and Addie Riley, Griffin, James, Harris and Reagan Riley, Jasper and Cora Foreman, Maggie, Ben and James Bridges, Riley and Ailen Ward and Desmond and Declan Ward.
Visitation will be 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, Friday, December 3, 2021 at Trinity United Methodist Church followed by a Memorial Service at 1:00 pm with Rev. Mac Buttram officiating.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to CV Surgery at the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, 801 Clinton Avenue, Huntsville AL 35801 (www.huntsvillehospitalfoundation.org) or Community Free Clinic, 410 Sivley Road, SW, Huntsville, AL 35801 (www.hsvfreeclinic.org).
