Aden "Web" Riordan

Aden Wilbun "Web" Riordan (1901-1971)

Birth, Parents & Siblings

Web was born on August 28th, 1901, in Cave City, Kentucky, Barren County as a second-generation Irish American. His parents, Aden Riordan and Ellen (Nell) King Martin, were approximately 29 and 26 years old, respectively, at the time.

Several generations of the Riordans had settled in and around nearby Canmer, Kentucky arriving from Ireland in the early 1850s.

Web was the second of three children, all boys, including Horace Burton “Burton” (1898–1984) and Edwin Leon (1907-1969).

Growing up

Likely moved from Kentucky to Indianapolis in approximately 1904, when he was three years old.

Marriage & Children

On Sunday July 22nd, 1928, Web married Leota Lee Crawford in Indianapolis, Indiana when she was approximately 25 years old and he was approximately 26 years old.

Photos from their honeymoon indicate that they travelled to Gettysburg, Philadelphia and Most Summit, Pennsylvania. In addition, they travelled to Mount Vernon, Virginia, Washington, DC and the Atlantic City, New Jersey Boardwalk.

Web and Leota had one child, Robert Leon “Bob” Riordan, born on August 12th, 1932, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

His father died in 1931 when he was 30 years old before his first and only child was born.

Adulthood

1929 – January 1 in Chicago in the snow near Lake Michigan with his brother Burton and a friend (photo)

1930 – Census living in Indianapolis at West 36th Street. He was listed as a salesman with an oil company and Leota was listed as a stenographer in a law office.

1934 – They were living in Indianapolis at 3431 Broadway. He is listed in the city directory as the Manager for the Alemite Sales Company. According to his wife, Leota, this association did not go well and that Web lost a lot of money as a result of his time with Alemite.

1937 – Grand Rapids, Michigan, 850 Union Avenue. In the city directory his occupation is listed as District Representative (for Chevrolet?)

1940 Census – Traverse City, Michigan, District Manager for Chevrolet Motor Company

From BER - WWII – During World War II, states and large metropolitan areas began establishing civil defense councils whose first job was to figure out where there communities were most vulnerable to enemy attacks or sabotage. On May 20, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Office of Civilian Defense, which would become the central source of information and direction for these local organizations.

Web, who would have been 40 at the time, joined that organization and served there for some portion of the war period. Civilian defense volunteers performed all kinds of tasks depending on their skills and available time. I believe from conversations in the past that Web served in the Protective Services Division. This division was formed to develop comprehensive programs for training and organizing volunteers to safeguard the civilian population by such means as blackouts, camouflage, civilian evacuation, protective construction and other defense against air attacks. We see a picture on Web’s media page with a notation on the back on the back that he attended a training school in connection with National War Emergency Service Program in Cincinnati at the Netherland Plaza Hotel, October 18, 19, 20 – the year was not posted on this photo but I assume it was 1941 since that was when the Office of Civilian Defense was established. In a prior photo from May 19, 1941, a banquet for members of Business Management Training School in Detroit indicates that he was in a management role for Chevrolet at that time, one of his many positions over his career with Chevrolet. Photographs show Web at the meetings of Parts Managers. In one he sits alone at the head table, indicating that he was in charge, perhaps. Those meetings were held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While there were no dates on those meetings, there are photos of a Sales Managers’ Forum held in Detroit, July 12-21, in 1948, indicating Web’s continuing advancement with Chevrolet.

1942 (January) - 402 N. Catherine Street, Bay City, Michigan

1948 - Mother died in 1948 when he was 46 years old.

1971 - 530 Lamont Drive, Apartment 3 in Kettering where Leota continued to live?

Last place he lived was the Dayton Mental Health Center, 2335 Wayne Avenue, 45420

From BER – As a grandfather and father-in-law he was observant, yet quiet, glad to be with his family at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Always ready his quiet but endearing “hWell-uh” when asked for a response or an option, quietly offering, never pushing his philosophy, just responding to a perceived need. He had dementia in his last days but never seemed unhappy or distressed that I saw. Always kind and appreciative of his daughter-in-law.

Death

Web died on March 19, 1971, in the Dayton Mental Health Center, at the age of 69. His primary cause of death was acute pneumonia in the upper right lobe of his lung with a secondary cause listed as severe emphysema, which he had for years, due to a cavity in the upper right lobe, possibly caused by tuberculosis. Although not documented on his death certificate, he suffered from what we now know as Alzheimer’s disease for many years, too. He is buried in David’s Cemetery, behind David’s Church, at the corner of David Road and Highway 48, in Dayton, Ohio. His wife survived him for another 16 years and is also buried in David’s Cemetery.

Riordan-Durant Family Tree

Connecting Generations, Sharing Stories

Aden Wilbun "Web" Riordan (1901-1971)

Capturing Memories: An Ancestral Photo Album

Riordan-Durant Family Tree

Connecting Generations, Sharing Stories

Aden Wilbun "Web" Riordan (1901-1971)

Capturing Memories: An Ancestral Photo Album

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