Elizabeth Esthermay Riordon

Elizabeth Esthermay Riordon died on July 2, 2025, at Frederick Health Hospital in Frederick, Maryland, following emergency abdominal surgery. She was 81.

Elizabeth was a WWII war baby, born in London, England, on March 6, 1944, to American GI Clyde L. Cowan and his wife, Betty (née Dunham). The family moved to the US shortly after Elizabeth’s birth, spending time in Missouri and New Mexico, and ultimately settling in Maryland, where her father became a physics professor at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Ursuline Academy High School of Bethesda, MD in 1961.

Elizabeth was a lifelong artist who won numerous awards for her paintings and sketches, including many featuring the deserts, forests, mountains, and shorelines near her homes in New Mexico, Massachusetts, Colorado, Texas, Maryland, and Arizona. She was a leading member of arts councils in Maryland and Arizona, and taught art classes at Howard Community College in Howard County, Maryland, in the 1980s. She was also an active member of Master Gardeners associations in various states and was particularly fond of cultivating the native plants that often featured in her paintings.

Despite her petite stature, standing only 5'2”, Elizabeth was a formidable character, as both her friends and foes can attest. She fought to become the first female member of the volunteer fire department in Castle Rock, Colorado; battled homeowners' associations to modify covenants; rallied on behalf of political causes and candidates; and frequently shared her deeply held views on society, culture, medicine, and science with total strangers and acquaintances alike. She did it all while raising six children, earning a master's degree in psychology, and relocating cross-country numerous times as an Air Force spouse.

Elizabeth lost her husband, Major John Riordon, in 2011 when he died 49 years after they eloped in 1962. She is survived by her children: David John, James Robert, Karen Elizabeth (Bradley), COL Barbara Jean (Meadows), Jennifer Marie (Hall), and Stephen Michael, as well as her sister, Marion Kriston, and brother, George Lorraine Cowan. Elizabeth leaves behind 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, July 12, 11 a.m. at St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church, 4103 Price’s Distillery Road, Ijamsville, MD 21754. A reception for family and friends following Mass at Holly Hills Country Club, 5502 Mussetter Road, Ijamsville, MD 21754. 

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Ramsey Canyon, AZ Preserve at https://preserve.nature.org/page/81523/donate/1?engrid_session=NTEyMTU0ZjctMTUxNy00M2I2LWI4YzEtZjhiNmQ3YzYwODhmfDE3NTE5ODk5MzN8MTc1MTk5MDI5N3wxMXxodHRwczovL3d3dy5iaW5nLmNvbXx8aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmF0dXJlLm9yZ3w%3D