Bridge To A Friendship -- Span That Reopens Park Trail Honors Young Man Who Died

Terry Riley was an artist, law student, mountain climber, mechanic and philosopher.

But friends and family members also remember the longtime Bellevue resident, who died last year at age 30, as a bridge builder.

"He connected a lot of things, be it ideas or people or groups of people," said Alan Belardinelli, one of Riley's best friends from Interlake High School in Bellevue.

Now one of those groups of friends has built a bridge for Riley.

Students at Portland's Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, where Riley would have graduated this past May, have spent the past year sketching plans, seeking permits, and hauling concrete and wood for the Terry Riley Bridge in Portland's Tryon Creek State Natural Area.

Last month they unveiled the 48-foot suspension bridge, which enabled the reopening of an abandoned trail in the park, just south of the law school. The woodsy park was among his favorite places, said his mother, Sandy Tangeman.

"The bridge was like the repairing of my heart because I know what it would mean to Terry," said Tangeman, a retired executive secretary to the deputy superintendent of Bellevue schools. "He got something special from all his friendships."

From the start, there were so many friendships for Riley. His brother, sister and six step-siblings were "all very close, not like `steps,' " she said.

In school "he always had a group of kids around him," said Mike McBride, retired principal of Bellevue's Stevenson Elementary School, which Riley attended in the 1970s.

Like others who knew Riley through his years at Stevenson, Highland Junior High School, Interlake High School and Seattle University, McBride wasn't sure what Riley would settle on as a career - he had so many interests.

Riley sketched constantly, fixed and built bikes, devoured science fiction, played countless sports, loved the outdoors and never passed up a good debate.

After earning a mathematics degree from Seattle University in 1990, Riley scaled Mount Rainier and Mount Baker, earning climbing gear by designing logos for local outdoor stores; had art shows and painted a massive Alice in Wonderland mural, which hangs in Seattle's Sit & Spin restaurant-laundry; and designed and sold ski hats with Belardinelli.

"He was exuberant about everything," said Rob Laws, a family friend and Issaquah resident. "Someone would spill milk on the floor and he'd say, `That's a cool design. Let me get my sketch pad.' "

Riley eventually decided to study intellectual property. Last summer "was the happiest he'd ever been," Tangeman said. The upcoming year promised not only graduation but also his wedding to another law student.

No symptoms portended the heart attack he had the morning of Aug. 13. During the five days Riley spent in the hospital before his death, there were never fewer than 50 people visiting him.

When the law students told her about their plans for the bridge, "It hit me right down to the bottom of my toes," Tangeman said. "It said a lot about those kids."

And Riley. Janet Burkitt's phone message number is 206-515-5689. Her e-mail address is: jbur-new@seatimes.com