Tom Riley

Tom redirects here. For other uses, see Tom (disambiguation)

Thomas Dale Riley Jr.

Nickname

Tom

Occupation

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Religious Status

Christian

Number of Episodes

134

Type

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First Episode

FP 01: Whit's Visitor (1987)

Last Episode

632: Suspicious Finds (2008)

Thomas Dale Riley Jr., best known by his nickname, Tom, is a resident of Odyssey who has been around since the very first Family Portraits episode, FP #01: "Whit's Visitor". Tom, born in Marion, Indiana,or Odyssey according to Clubhouse Magazine. is an apple farmer; he owns and resides on a large apple farm, which he inherited from his father. In #202: “Timmy's Cabin”, Tom learns that at least some of the apple trees on his farm were originally sown by Johnny Appleseed. Tom has also been the mayor of Odyssey, a little league coach, and has served on various boards in the town of Odyssey. Tom never dreamed he would accomplish combining his small town idealism with big town effects.

History[edit]

Political Life[edit]

Tom's political life expanded, however, after his friends urge him to run for mayor in #286: “Tom for Mayor, Part 1” & #287: “Tom for Mayor, Part 2”. Tom's time as mayor is plagued with troubles brought on by the Blackgaard saga.

After his term expires, Tom returns to farming, but is eventually inspired by the memory of his late son Timmy to create a recreation center at his farm for kids from the inner city.

Personal life[edit]

Family[edit]

See Riley family

Tom's second wife, Agnes Riley, is mentally ill and is living at Hillingdale Haven. They have been married for 37 years as of 2013. Tom married her after losing his first wife to cancer. He also had a son, Timmy Riley, who drowned in a boating accident before Tom remarried. Tom started the Timothy Center after his son died and named it in his honor.

His father was Tom Riley Sr., and he had a sister named Rebecca.

He also has a great-niece, Jami Martin.

Friends[edit]

Tom is good friends with John Whittaker, Bernard Walton, and many others. Tom Riley gets along well with kids and he's always willing to give advice to them, if needed. Tom isn't big on technology or fancy words and, especially in the earlier seasons, was frequently at odds with Eugene on those subjects. After the debut of Bernard Walton, Tom and Eugene were portrayed as less-adversarial friends.

Farm[edit]

See Tom Riley's farm

Tom has a family farm which is a key location in several episodes. Besides being the location of the Timothy Center, it's also where Novacom built a communications tower. The farm is located a fair distance out of Odyssey, since when Whit picks up Aubrey Shepard in #418: “Opening Day”, they have time for a conversation in the car before getting to Odyssey.

Trivia[edit]

Tom once sold bad apples - by accident. (#128: “One Bad Apple”)
The ring-tone of Tom's cell phone is "Old McDonald Had a Farm". (#570: “For Better or For Worse, Part 1”)
Tom collects old soda pop cans.
Tom once got a five-legged dog for Christmas named Cheddar.
Tom went to jail for a little bit of time.
Tom is 5 feet 11 inches.
Tom has brown eyes.
Tom used to be part of a vaudeville team with his friend Andrew Kiley, but declined an invitation to perform at a dinner theatre because he felt they weren't ready. (#553: “Potential Possibilities”)
Tom's favorite food is cheese.
Tom was born in Odyssey
Tom has coached many sports teams
Tom ran for mayor and beat Bart Rathbone.