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Shane's and Sammy's college fund

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Steph Strong

Retired NH Air National Guard Lt. Col. Stephanie Murdough Riley of Concord, a career military and civilian nurse, passed away last night (12/29) after a fearless battle with lung cancer. She was 47.

Riley used her initial diagnosis in October last year as a call to arms for others to take better care of themselves and schedule regular check-ups.

..."I think of you all as my extended family and would not want to lose any one of you to something that could be prevented or caught early," she wrote in an email to the NHNG's full-time force. "Please think about getting plugged into a primary care provider (and dentist), if you don't have one already."

Riley, a wife and mother of two, became just as outspoken in her community. Her motto was, "Have You Served?"

“Stephanie was a true citizen-soldier,” said Maj. Gen. William Reddel, the adjutant general of the New Hampshire National Guard. “As a nurse, she dedicated her life to helping others. She never wavered from that mission even in the midst of her own health crisis. She was an extraordinarily courageous woman, mother and wife. Today our hearts are heavy. New Hampshire has lost a genuine patriot and good friend to so many.”

Born and raised in Henniker, Riley attended St Paul’s advanced studies summer program, played sports and graduated as valedictorian from Henniker High School in 1984.

“I was born here, my kids were born here, I have worked here,” she told a WMUR reporter at a May 15 fundraiser for Concord Hospital’s Payson Center for Cancer Care. “I feel really good about giving back. Concord Hospital has done well by me.” Her team, "Steph Strong", raised more than $9,000 for the annual road race.

After graduating from Boston College in 1988, Riley joined the United States Air Force. She was stationed in California and Louisiana and served until the end of operation Desert Storm. In 2000, she rejoined the New Hampshire Air National Guard where she deployed to South East Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In addition to her military service, Riley worked extensively throughout the United States as a traveling nurse. In 1999, after meeting her husband Shawn, she took a job at Concord Hospital where she has worked full- and part-time.

She also did a long stint with the New Hampshire Army National Guard as the full-time occupational health nurse.

Riley retired from the Air National Guard this fall. A retirement ceremony in her honor was scheduled for Jan. 10, 2015.

Riley was most proud of her two children Shane,13, and Samantha, 9. Her husband Shawn Riley was a firefighter/paramedic with the Concord Fire Department and is now the deputy chief of emergency medical services for the Laconia Fire Department.
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  • Rafael Valdes
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    • 6 yrs
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Skate Murdough
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Hopkinton, NH

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