Riley Elizabeth Houser

Riley Elizabeth Houser was born 12/19/2002 to Richie & Crystal Houser. She had 2 older brothers Austin & Connor who she loved & looked up to very much. Riley lived in Mill Hall her entire short life. From an early age Riley had a sassy attitude, was so funny, but had a heart of gold. She was beautiful, smart, and very talented. She had the ability to brighten anybody’s day by making them laugh or just being a listening ear. Family & her friends meant everything to her. She loved her nephew Preston so much, he was her best friend. Riley taught Preston baseball as soon as he could walk. Riley had a love of sports, especially baseball & softball. Riley played baseball from age 6 to 13. She then switched to softball and played up through high school. Riley was an amazing pitcher in baseball, and she played shortstop in both baseball & softball. Earning many district and state titles in both and too many MVP awards to count. Riley was good at any sport she tried and if there was a cornhole tournament then everyone hoped to get her as a partner.
On January 24,2022 we lost Riley at the age of 19 to suicide. Leaving her family devastated we wanted to think of ways to help others and honor Riley, keeping her memory alive. We promised to never let anyone forget her. Riley has 2 memorial benches set up. One at the Mill Hall little league field donated by her family and one at the Central Mountain High School Softball field donated by her friends. In 2022 Riley’s family with the help of the Keystone Central Foundation, started the Riley Elizabeth Houser Memorial Scholarship. This annual scholarship, in the amount of $1,111 (Riley’s favorite jersey number was 1) is given to a graduating senior softball player who plans to attend a 2 or 4 year college. Since 2022, this scholarship has been given out to 11 young ladies. Every year Riley’s family does a cornhole tournament in September (National Suicide Prevention Month) to help raise money for the scholarship fund and to help others in need. In 2024 Riley’s family started the Riley Houser Memorial Fund. This fund allows our family to continue to honor Riley and help others in their darkest days. With this memorial fund since August 2024 the fund has helped 7 families and children with cancer. In 2025 the fund sponsored a Minor A baseball team in her honor named Riley’s Rascals. Riley’s brother Austin is the manager and her nephew Preston and cousin Emma played on the team. The fund also sponsored a softball team this year named Riley’s Rebels. This was named after the travel softball team Rebellion (Rebels) , with who Riley loved to play for. In March of this year the family did a Shamrock Bingo (held right before St. Patrick’s Day) to again help keep the Memorial fund going so we can help as many people as possible as we keep our beautiful girls memory alive. Our plan is to do the bingo again on 3/15/26. From the entire Houser family we want to thank the amazing community who continue to support our fundraising efforts year after year, and for taking the time to read about Riley & enjoying her bench.
“Never let a stumble in the road be the end of your journey; tomorrow needs you”