Funeral Held For Former County Sheriff

Former Spokane County Sheriff William J. Reilly was remembered Monday as one of the leaders of combined city and county services.

Reilly, 81, died last Friday. A funeral Mass was Monday at St. Anthony Catholic Church with burial at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Born in Spokane, Reilly served as sheriff from 1957 to 1979. He was succeeded by Sheriff Larry Erickson.

“He was probably as honest and straightforward and concerned about people as anyone I’ve met in my life,” Erickson said Monday.

“He was a pretty strong man, but gentle in a lot of ways,” he said.

Erickson said he remembers Reilly coming to tears after seeing the bodies of a wife and children shot to death by the woman’s husband.

Reilly led efforts for a combined city-county Public Safety Building, and the merger of law enforcement services such as record and property keeping.

Among other community activities, he was involved in the founding of Morning Star Boys Ranch.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; two sons, William and Mike Reilly, both of Spokane; one daughter, Betti McKenna of Yakima; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

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