Doris Radcliffe: Friend of slain police superintendent

17-Oct-11 – Former Marina City resident Doris Radcliffe has died. Radcliffe was with Deputy Superintendent James J. Riordan when he was shot and killed at Marina City on June 6, 1981. Riordan was the highest-ranking Chicago police officer killed in action.

He was at the Captain’s Table restaurant at Marina City with Radcliffe and two other friends, Martin and Alice O’Brien, who were also residents. At about 9:30 p.m., following a long-brewing altercation with a drunken bar patron, Riordan was shot by former police officer Leon Washington.

Radcliffe, who was about six feet away, ran to the fallen Riordan and held his head out of a shallow decorative fountain in a hallway leading to the bar. He died two hours later.

Police tried in vain to conceal the fact that the married Riordan was dating Radcliffe, who was divorced.

Radcliffe was born in 1935. Over 26 years at Canteen Corporation, she worked her way up from a payroll clerk to Vice President of Administration. She then worked for FCB Chicago (now Draftfcb), advancing from a human resources secretary to Vice President of Benefit Administration. After 28 years there, she retired in December 2009.

She had two daughters, two grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Radcliffe died on August 23, 2011, after a brief illness.