The Columbia mom of 3 who was ‘sunshine in human form’

Those who crossed paths with Emily Rieger share the same sentiment about the Columbia mom of three: She radiated positivity and supported everyone around her.

She was fun-loving, celebrating obscure unofficial holidays like National Cupcake Day by serving her kids cupcakes for breakfast.

She also felt called to serve her community, as part of the Swansfield Elementary PTA or the Hickory Ridge Community Association.

“Emily was the connector of people,” said Lena Mak, one of her many friends.

“She was such a bright light that got extinguished,” said Trisha Doyle, another friend.

“I call her the closest thing to sunshine in human form,” added Mak.

Rieger found joy in making others happy, whether it was a card or a small gift to let a friend know she was thinking of them. She also loved to throw parties, including annual friendsgivings that routinely brought dozens of people together.

“Her true gift was connecting strangers who could become future best friends,” Laura Mayton, the Hickory Ridge Community Association village manager, said in a statement.

Rieger died from a rare autoimmune disease on June 26. She was 45.

Rieger and her family only found out about her illness in April. Everything happened so fast.

She’d been so vibrant, it took them all by surprise.

For the past five years, Emily was the special events coordinator at the Hickory Ridge Community Association, where she maintained village traditions like story times and bingo nights.

“Through her endless dedication, Emily truly became the heart of Hickory Ridge,” Mayton said.

Rieger was born April 22, 1981, in Midland, Michigan, the only child of Lee and MaryPat Bagrosky.

Her father a therapist and her mother a social worker, Rieger grew up knowing she wanted a career helping others. After earning a master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan, she moved south to work as a resident counselor at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts.

Within weeks, Hurricane Katrina smashed into the state. Rieger guided her students through the storm’s aftermath.

“She was in the right place because those kids needed sunshine in their lives,” said her mother, MaryPat Bagrosky. “Their families needed it.”

Bagrosky said her daughter became the family specialist on grief and loss after her experience in Louisiana. It’s because of her daughter that she knows there’s joy in sadness.

After Louisiana, Rieger moved to Georgia to work in community service at the Oxford College of Emory University before moving to Washington, D.C., in 2010 to work at George Washington University as a community service coordinator. She held that position until October 2016.

When Kurt Rieger met his future wife in 2011, he knew he had found his person. Kurt has a son, Mason, now 18, from a previous marriage. Emily quickly took on the mother role as if Mason were her own, Kurt reflected.

The couple left Washington, D.C., in 2014 to grow their family in the suburbs of Columbia. They married in October 2015, and a year later their family grew with the arrival of Liam, followed by Ryanne in July 2018.

“She loved being a mom, she truly did, and everything that came with it,” Kurt said.

Being stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t stop Emily from bringing the fun. She created Rieger Camp, complete with family T-shirts. Once the pandemic subsided, the family took up real camping.

On their first camping trip to Assateague State Park, the firewood got wet and they needed a pit stop for sunscreen and underwear for all the kids. But traditions were forged, like always playing Mad Libs by flashlight.

It gave Kurt and Emily the idea of visiting all the national parks together. The family has since visited Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Indiana Dunes.

Before her diagnosis, the family planned to move to Michigan, so Emily encouraged several friends to run for offices in the Swansfield Elementary PTA, where she was vice president of membership and community relations.

Doyle, the PTA’s incoming corresponding secretary, met Emily when her family considered moving to Columbia. Doyle’s brother-in-law mentioned that his cousin already lived there. He connected the two.

His cousin? Emily Rieger.

In that first conversation at Clemens Crossing Park, Emily told Doyle: “You should move here.” They did, ending up a mile away from Emily’s family.

“We’re a pseudo family,” Doyle said.

Mindy Gorelik’s relationship with Emily centered on community, through their children’s Sundevils swim team, serving on the PTA together and supporting Swansfield Elementary’s first grade team as room parents.

Gorelik was introduced to Emily’s warm nature when their children swam together. Emily took the more reserved Gorelik under her wing and introduced her to other families.

To honor Emily’s gift for connecting people, the Swansfield PTA recently held a potluck on the school’s blacktop. Despite the sweltering July heat, the community showed up with mac and cheese, pasta salad, pizza and, of course, Doyle’s layered Jell-O, a favorite dish of Emily’s.

“She was a person you couldn’t help but smile around,” said Mak, a Swansfield parent. “Whenever I go to a potluck, a PTA event, receive an act of kindness or I do one, I will think of her.”

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