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PASSING OF LILLIAN P. REILLY, CHARTER MEMBER

PASSING OF LILLIAN P. REILLY, CHARTER MEMBER The NYPD Emerald Society mourns the recent passing of our Charter Member, Lillian Patricia Reilly (nee Thompson) on November 6, 2017. She was 94 years of age and was very proud of her March 17th birthday and all that came with that special day. For many years she had been a resident of Venice, Florida. Lillian will always be remembered in our Emerald Society history as a strong force and founding member in the days leading to our establishment and the enactment of our Charter back in 1953. On October 3, 1951 she joined the NYPD at the age of 28, serving in the rank of Policewoman. She was uniquely and temporarily issued Shield #1, before being permanently assigned Shield #262 for the remainder of her 20 years of dedicated duty. In a relatively short time after being sworn into the police force, Lillian became most active in an effort that started with 3 other policewomen, to organize a fraternal group within the NYPD for those of Irish descent. They were soon joined by many of their male colleagues, as word of their undertaking grew throughout the job. Somewhat unexpectedly, the pioneering group was met with much resistance by police brass in upper echelon at Headquarters on Centre Street and at City Hall. There was unwarranted fear, that the new fraternal group would have too much power within the job, with the anticipated vast number of members joining. Lillian's Irish pride and determination, shared with her cohorts throughout the ranks eventually won out and in 1953 the first Emerald Society in America was formed. This lead the way for many more Emerald Societies to be formed across the country. Policewoman Lillian Reilly's career included assignments with the Bureau of Policewomen, Juvenile Aid Bureau and finally the Youth Division. In March of 1956 she received Department Recognition for Meritorious Police Duty. The official narrative account stated: On August 26, 1955 and subsequent dates, after intense investigation, gathered information that led to the apprehension of 16 youths in the Borough of Richmond (Staten Island) for deviant crimes, assault, possession of Marijuana, 483 Penal Law and subordination of perjury. A truly blockbuster of criminal activity leading to wide scale arrest in that era of the mid-1950s. On October 8, 1971 Lillian Reilly retired from her beloved NYPD, ending an exemplary career of service to the citizens of New York City. All those who have enjoyed membership in the NYPD Emerald Society throughout the past 7 decades, owe a debt of gratitude to Policewoman Reilly and the men and woman who created this outstanding fraternal organization. Below is a more detailed account of Lillian Reilly's life and times, written by her loving grandson James T. Reilly.

Lillian Patricia Reilly, nee Thompson, was born in New York City on March 17, 1923 and passed away on November 6, 2017 in Venice, Florida. She was the 4th child of five siblings born to Dudley and Lelia K. Thompson.

She spent her childhood in Staten Island, NY, much of her teen years in Florida and then settled back in the New York area. She married Thomas Reilly and raised two sons, James Patrick Reilly (deceased) and Thomas J. Reilly of Seminole, Fl. She is survived by her 5 grandchildren, Anne Reilly of New Jersey, Jennifer, James and Thomas J. Reilly Jr. and Dawn Sears, all of NY. Additionally, she is survived by two great grandchildren, Kellen Patrick Reilly and Amber Sears.

From 1951 to 1971, she was a proud member of the New York City Police Department in a time when there were few women in law enforcement. One of her achievements that filled her with a lifetime source of pride was when in 1953 she, along with 3 other NYC policewomen founded the NYPD Emerald Society, an organization of Irish Americans within the police department. To this day, the organization continues to help foster Irish heritage and tradition in the NYPD, and promotes and preserves the accomplishments that the Irish have made in law enforcement. After retiring, she became a professor at Bergen Community College in New Jersey.

In the 1980's Lillian moved to Florida. First to Clearwater and then ultimately to Venice where she spent her remaining years. Despite suffering from Macular Degeneration which rendered her legally blind in the later years of her life, she proved to be a woman with limitless energy and a local force in the community particularly focused on helping all visually impaired residents of the Venice area. She was a prominent member of the Venice Chapter for the Florida Council of the Blind and proud member of the Venice Lions, many times serving as the Lion in the Annual Christmas and St. Patrick's Day Parades. She proved to be a constant citizen participant at all Venice City Council meetings and was a relentless advocate for promoting traffic safety improvements to help the visually impaired. Through her efforts, the major intersections on Tamiami Train in Venice now have audible chirping signals to help the visually handicapped cross safely. .

One of Lillian's greatest joys was to garden. For many years she took special care of hundreds of plants at her home in Venice. She loved to show off her lovely colorful yard to every friend and loved one.

She was always affectionately referred to as "Sis" or "Aunt Sis" by those near and dear to her. Her niece Madelyn Sainz of Venice was a constant companion and caregiver in her later years.

Finally, above all, nothing was more important to Lillian than her beloved grandchildren. She instilled a belief in the importance of education in them that never wavered and took tremendous pride in all the accomplishments they achieved in their lives. She was a role model that her grandchildren could always look up to and a shoulder to lean on whenever they needed one. They were her pride and joy, and she will always be theirs.

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