Roger Anthony Riddle

View Funeral Webcast Roger Anthony Riddle was born April 8, 1956, to the late Charles Calvin Riddle and the late Frances Parks Riddle in Columbia, Tennessee. His younger years were spent in the Riverside neighborhood, and he maintained many friendships made during that time for his lifetime. He went on to graduate from Central High School in 1974 and entered the full-time work force, after having worked his way through school. His strong work ethic and commitment to honesty and doing things right proved to make him successful in every job he held through the years. He retired in 2019 from Service Partners as their Sales Manager. Visitation with family and friends will be at Graymere Church of Christ, 1320 Trotwood Ave, on Thursday evening from 3:00-7:00 pm. Funeral services will be Friday afternoon at 1:00 pm at Graymere with Andrew Phillips, John Vaughan, Wendell Robinson and Jon David Schwartz officiating. Interment will follow at Polk Memorial Gardens. Oakes and Nichols Funeral Directors are assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Graymere church of Christ Student Ministry fund, Graymere.com; the American Heart Association, heart.org; or the American Cancer Society, http://donate.cancer.org. In 1976, he married the love of his life, Connie Thompson Riddle. His goal was to tell and show her every day just how loved she was by him. The family they created brought him such joy, from his two daughters to their husbands and especially their grandchildren. If you knew him, you likely heard him say “It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know.” He was a people-person if there ever was one, always looking for ways to connect with others and taking a genuine interest in them. Because of this, his relationships defined his life in beautiful ways. He found friends - both old and new - everywhere he went. To know him was to love him, and to know you were loved by him. He was able to connect with so many people because his own interests were varied. He loved sports - playing and watching - and was an athlete in high school, playing basketball, tennis, and baseball. As an adult, he refereed high school football and basketball games, umpired Little League games, played softball in the Men’s Church League, enjoyed tennis matches with friends, and for many years had a standing Saturday tee time with his golfing buddies. It wasn’t all about sports, however; he always had a random piece of trivia at the ready, a song to suggest for any occasion, or could carry a conversation about Star Trek or DC Comics with anyone. He was a reader, and his favorite was Stephen King, reading nearly every one of his novels. He taught Bible classes for many years, and his love of learning and of Scripture was evident in the lessons he presented each week. He and Connie made their home in Columbia, and invested in this community. He wore many hats, but not many faces - he strove to live authentically and serve in whatever capacity he was needed. As members of Graymere church of Christ, they worked with the youth group in the early years of their marriage, and made many lasting friendships as a result. He served as a board member and then Chairman of the Board at Columbia Academy in the early 2000s. One of the privileges of his life was to serve as a Deacon and then an Elder with the Graymere church of Christ, which he did until his death, honoring his passion for the Lord and for people. He is survived by his wife, Connie; his daughters, Rebecca (Ben) Farris and Bethany (James) Gray; his grandchildren, Linley Farris, Mabry Gray, Eden Farris, Calvin Gray, and Everett Roger Gray, all of Columbia; his sister, Delilah Andrews (Johnny) Harris of Columbia; his sister-in-law, Lisa Riddle of Ormond Beach, Florida; mother-in-law, Okerleen Mabry Thompson of Columbia; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers Timothy Alan Riddle and Charles Brian Riddle. Pallbearers will be Nick Andrews, Cam Andrews, Justin Riddle, Cody Riddle, Charlie Rash, Matthew Thomason, Wesley Bland, and Randel Johnston. Honorary pallbearers will be “The Framily,” former and current ministers, Deacons and Elders of Graymere church of Christ, David and Maggie Parr, and his colleagues at Service Partners. A very special thank you to Dr. Deborah Goldsmith and the Maury Regional Wound Care Clinic nurses and staff for their sustained and instrumental care for him over the last several years, along with their friendship. The family also wishes to thank Dr. Dwayne Fulks, Dr. Patrick Murphy, and Dr. Gaylon Harris for leading his care team during the last several years.