Ann "Tiffy" Mosa Riling

It is with great sadness that we announce that our beautiful Mother and Grandmother, Ann “Tiffy” Mosa Riling a long-time resident of Milford passed away on March 26, 2024 at home surrounded by daughters and granddaughters. She was 95 years old.

Ann is survived by her daughters Anne Mailhot, Charlene Riling (wife Kate O’Boyle), Wendy J. Riling; granddaughters Dana Mailhot (partner Dave Szilagyi) and Kayly Beitler (husband Ryan); nieces Cheryl Jones and Linda Little (Jeff), nephew Bill Mosa (Lilly); and great nephews, and grand nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents Abraham and Mary (Jureidin) Mosa, her husband Charles, her brother William (Bill) Mosa, sister-in-law Beatrice Mosa, and son-in-law Matthew Mailhot.

Ann was born at home on Harrison Street in Fall River, Massachusetts on December 4, 1928, to Abraham and Mary (Jureidin) Mosa. Both Abraham and Mary were born in Majdaloun, Lebanon. Ann embraced her Lebanese heritage.

Ann attended B. M.C Durfee High School, in Fall River, graduating June 1947. During her high school years, she worked part-time at Woolworth’s Five and Dime (age 15). At the age of 16, she went to work at the Firestone Company (during World War II) making gas masks and small life rafts for service men and women. At that time, one of the departments of the Firestone Company was staffed largely by high school students. Friday evenings (Lebanese volunteer night) were spent at the Red Cross Headquarters. Here, Ann and her friends rolled bandages for the wounded service people. They were proud to do their part in the war effort.

After the end of the war, Ann graduated from Durfee HS. She worked part-time at Shelburne Shirts and helped her father at their family-owned grocery store.

Ann loved to dance. Often you would find her and her friends ballroom dancing at Lincoln Park in New Bedford Massachusetts, Crescent Park and Rocky Point in Rhode Island, and the Roseland Ballroom in Taunton, Massachusetts. Upon receiving her driver’s license at the age of 24, Ann and her friends would go dancing Friday nights at the Enlisted Men’s Club at the Newport Rhode Island Naval Station. It was at the Enlisted Men’s Club where Ann would find the love of her life, Chief Petty Officer, Charles Riling.

Ann and Charles were married at The Naval Station Chapel in Newport on November 14, 1954. Shortly after their marriage Ann and Charles started their family. They resided in Fall River, spent 2 years in Morgantown, WV, finally residing in Milford CT in 1963 after Charles retired from the Navy. It is in Milford where they would raise their three daughters and become established members of the Milford community. Ann and Charles had been married for 27 years. Charles would pass away in 1981.

Ann worked in Milford as an administrative assistant at the Second National Bank. She worked in the Milford mayoral office during the tenure of Mayor Henry Povinelli. Ann ended her working career in the Milford Public Schools, serving as an office secretary at Jonathon Law High School and later as a secretary for Pupil Personnel Services.

Ann was very active in her retirement years. She served as a mentor for youth. Ann was also a volunteer for the Milford Senior Center and the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut. She enjoyed working as an usher at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, played golf and badminton, and did extensive traveling both in the US and abroad. She enjoyed sharing her travel experiences with her daughters, granddaughters, and friends. She was grateful for the opportunity to travel to places such as Greece, Turkey Portugal, France, Italy, Switzerland, and the Balkans.

We know our Mom/Gram will always be with us - a bright light in so many lives; a light that will continue to shine on so many she loved, and so many who loved her. Her memory will live on forever in our hearts.

There are no calling hours, a Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Mary Church 70 Gulf Street, Milford. Burial will be held privately by the family. In Lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Masonic Charity Foundation of Connecticut or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Ann is being compassionately cared for by Cody-White Funeral Home, to light a candle or leave a condolence in her memory please visit www.CodyWhiteFuneralService.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ann "Tiffy" Mosa Riling, please visit our floral store.