Richard E. Riegel

Richard Edmund Riegel 62, of Hawthorne, N.Y. passed away on Friday, November 26, 2021 at Phelps Memorial Hospital, in Sleepy Hollow, NY of cardiac arrest after battling pancreatic and liver cancer. His parents predeceased him: father, Richard Riegel (died 2003) and mother, Nora Schneider (died 2018) His brother, Charles Riegel passed away in 1995. He is survived by his sister, Dawn O’Conner of County Cork, Ireland, brother in law, Thomas, nieces Dawn, Bernadette and Tara, nephews Shane and the late Richard, and his grandniece, Ella Ann Quinn. He is survived by aunts, Nora Riegel and Harriet Schneider. Richie will be especially missed by his best friend of 40 years, Mike Geary, by Debbie Palazzo, Leslie Carney and Fran Bissinger, who looked after Ben; as man's best friend, Ben was Richie's loyal companion.

Richard was born in North Tarrytown and raised in Hawthorne, NY. He attended local schools, graduating from Westlake high School in 1978. He received his baccalaureate degree in 2006 from Villanova University and earned a masters degree in public administration from Pace University in 2012.

He became a New York City police officer on January 26, 1982 and retired October 4, 2003 and served in the warrant squad and the office of the Chief of Detectives.

During his time with the NYPD he also enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve, serving 14 years as an intelligence specialist, from 1991 to 2005.

He was a first responder at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and spent weeks digging through the rubble.

Reposing, Hawthorne Funeral Home on Friday, Dec.3,2021 from 5-8 PM. Funeral Mass, Holy Rosary Church, Hawthorne, N.Y. on Saturday, 10:15 AM. Interment to follow at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, N.Y.

HAWTHORNE FUNERAL HOME

21 West Stevens Ave.

Hawthorne, New York 10532

914-769-4404