Lawrence Riley was described as a father figure for many in his neighborhood, serving as a surrogate for many who did not have a dad growing up.
“He was an iron man,” his son Elvaughn told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “He was big, big, big in the community.”
But despite the love the 6-foot-5 gentle giant gave to the world around him, the 66-year-old retired Milwaukee firefighter and Navy Vietnam veteran died from complications of COVID-19 on March 19, the first coronavirus death in the city, which health officials say has somehow disproportionately affected Black men there.
