City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Jessica Leigh Riley

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 33.
Died 06/16/2024.

Jessica Leigh Riley
Jessica Leigh Riley

July 11, 1990 – June 16, 2024
Jessica Leigh Riley of Raleigh passed away on June 16, 2024 at the age of 33.

Born on July 11, 1990 in Raleigh, NC to parents, Jerry and Cynthia Riley, Jessica attended grade school in Cary and graduated from Cary High School in 2008. With a desire to help others from a young age and a love for the movie Legally Blonde, she was inspired to pursue a career in law. After graduating from Appalachian State University with a Bachelors in History in 2012, she continued her education by completing Meredith College’s paralegal program.

Jessica was a bright spirit and wonderful friend who was accepting of anyone who had the pleasure of meeting her. She was honest and funny, and although she could sometimes be blunt, that was just her way of letting you know that she loved you. When Jessica was younger, she loved playing soccer. She was always proud of the life lessons that sports taught her, such as how to be a good friend and teammate. When she wasn’t on the field she could be found in the stands loudly supporting local teams. Jessica, an avid and talented cook, would host “family dinner” in college where she would cook an extravagant meal for her closest friends. Her favorite night was Italian night, held every Thursday. Jessica was well-versed in many topics and could hold a conversation with anyone. She was a huge Harry Potter fan and enjoyed all things “Bravo”. She also kept up with college basketball (Go Heels!), football, and current events. Jessica loved traveling whenever she had the chance. One of her favorite trips was exploring Rome with some of her best friends in college where they marveled at all the ancient history. Recently Jessica and her boyfriend Alex enjoyed exploring different historical coastal towns and dining in their local seafood restaurants.

She is preceded in death by her father, Jerry Lee Riley.

Always remembered and survived by her mother, Cindy Riley; significant other, Alex Wilson; sister, Terra Evans; brother-in-law, Jerry Evans; nephews, Aidan and Austin Evans; and all the friends she made along the way.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions can be donated via Venmo: @Alex-Wilson-373 or Cash App: $alexwils596

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.

City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

icon
Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

icon
Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

icon
Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

icon
Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

icon
Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

icon
Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

icon
Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations