Albert Risley, businessman and fund-raiser

Albert D. Risley Jr., 86, of Souderton, a Philadelphia-area businessman and later a fund-raiser for a business lobbying organization, died Friday, July 4, at Grandview Hospital in Sellersville from complications of heart failure.

Mr. Risley spent 25 years in the refractory and chrome-plating industries as a salesman working for E.J. Lavino & Co. in Philadelphia; a local salesman for the A.P. Green Co., based in the Midwest; and a plant manager for the Tibon Plating Co. in Norristown.

Refractory materials are substances made to withstand intense heat. For example, A.P. Green made the fireproof bricks used as liners for ovens that heat-treat industrial parts and products.

Mr. Risley, then 47, lost his job as Tibon plant manager in 1975 when the family-owned business made some management changes.

"He was a very independent-minded person," said his son Curtis S. "He didn't have any qualms about changing directions in his career. You run up against a brick wall, you try" something else.

A year later, Mr. Risley went to Washington to work for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He joined the National Association of Manufacturers and later the Business Industry Political Action Committee as a fund-raiser for political education. The group, known as BiPAC, represents business interests.

In 1982, he was appointed to a volunteer position on the Mid-Atlantic District Export Council by Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldridge.

Born and raised on West 10th Avenue in Conshohocken, Mr. Risley played football and basketball at Conshohocken High School. After graduating in June 1945, he joined the Navy, serving as a cryptologist in the Pacific from January 1946 to November 1947.

After his military service, he enrolled at Gettysburg College, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega and played football. "He got through in three years," said his son. "He was a man in a hurry."

With newly minted business administration degree in hand, he was ready to marry Beverly Allen of Rutherford, N.J. The two moved to East Fourth Avenue in Conshohocken before settling in Lansdale in 1957 to raise a family.

Mr. Risley served as president of the Lansdale Little League in 1965 and 1966, and was a member of the Lansdale Rotary Club.

Mr. Risley retired in 1988 from BiPAC. Five years later, he settled in Ocean Pines, Md., with his wife. He golfed, bowled, played bridge, and supported his wife's charitable activities with the Ocean Pines AK Chapter of P.E.O. International. The nonprofit funds educational opportunities for young women.

In October 2012, the two moved to Souderton Mennonite Homes.

Besides his wife and son, he is survived by another son, Albert D. III; daughter Dianne Massimini; a sister; and three grandchildren.

A memorial service and reception will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, at Talamore Country Club, 723 Talamore Dr., Ambler. Burial is private.

Donations may be made to the P.E.O. Foundation, 3700 Grand Ave., Des Moines, Iowa. 50312, or via www.peointernational.org.

610-313-8102