James C. Riley, 70, of Lavaca, Arkansas passed away on March 15, 2019 in a local hospital. He was born on July 31, 1948 in Hazard, Kentucky to McKinley and Nancy (Everidge) Riley. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a member of the VFW Post 1322 in Van Buren and of the DAV. He was a retired Courier for the Department of Energy. James was of the Christian faith and was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers and two sisters. Funeral service is 10:30AM, Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at Ocker-Putman Funeral Home Chapel with burial with honors in the U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He is survived by his loving wife Betty of the home; a son, James Riley and his wife Jennifer of Wagoner, Oklahoma; four grandchildren, Brianna, Olivia, Alyssa and Nathaniel Riley; two sisters, Patricia Murphy and Nola Faye Riley both of Suffolk, Virginia. Pallbearers are Jim Jenkins, Jim Krause, Jack Clack, Jim Mansfield, Seth Barnett and Scott Wright. Honorary pallbearers are Bill Wheeler, Alex Fuller, Fred Cox and Sam Graziano. The family will visit with friends from 5-7PM on Monday March 18th at Ocker-Putman Funeral Home in Fort Smith. Memorial may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959.