GRAMERCY — A decades-old Christmas Eve tradition rooted in friends and family will take on a new meaning this year. Loved ones will gather and a bonfire will burn, but when this year’s structure at permit spot G28 glows, it will be in honor of Iberville Deputy Charles Riley, who was killed in the line of duty in October.
Deputy Riley’s father, Dean Riley, told UWK that this year’s bonfire hasa special meaning. “It just means the world to me. I just miss my son,” he said quietly.
40-year tradition
Dean said he and his brother have been making small bonfires along the levee for Christmas for about 40 years. All of his sons have helped build the bonfires, including his youngest son, Charles, who helped from the time he was four years old.
“When his brothers and I would go out —he was just a little kid, too small to help with the big fire and the big logs — he would take our scraps and build a small fire by himself on the side,” Riley recalled. “We’d always light that fire as soon as we got there on Christmas Eve. Everybody knew that was Charlie’s fire.”
As Charles got older, he was able to help more, and quickly became the scout of the group. “In recent years, he was the guy who always scouted for trees for us to cut whenever he was on patrol,” Riley said. “When he started with the Sheriff’s Office, after he got out the Navy, he would scout the levees and the landowners and see if they had willow trees we could use.”
Honoring Deputy Riley
The Riley’s annual bonfire has celebrated and honored people and events in the past. “We’ve done the Saints’ Super Bowl, LSU championships, things like that,” Riley said. “One year, one of our family friends — he and his son helped us every year — the son was killed in a car wreck. So we did a bonfire with a cross and some solar lights on top with his name on it.”
Riley said this is the first year they’ve honored a family member who used to help build the fires. “His brothers and one of my nephews decided they’re gonna go all out for him this year,” he said. “They came up with the design, they bought the materials and said, ‘This is what this what we want to do.'”
“I’m really proud of his brothers and his cousins who got it all together,” he said. “We were all there from day one cutting the trees and digging the pole for the snow poles and help put it up.”
The Riley’s design this year is a traditional six pole bonfire that’s 18 feet tall. At the top, in place of a star or an angel, is a sheriff’s deputy badge, with a black band and blue line. There is also an American flag, a thin blue line flag, and the Louisiana state flag. His unit number 503 shines brightly underneath, and the entire structure is wrapped in blue lights.
“Most of the lights on it are solar powered, but some that are battery powered,” Riley said. “So I go out there every day and change the batteries out so it’ll be lit up.”
Remembering Charles
Riley said Charles was the youngest of four kids, and there was a six-year age gap between him and his closest sibling. “Charles and I were big buddies the whole time he was growing up,” the father recalled. “He was a very good baseball player. We traveled all over the state playing baseball when he was younger. He was actually on a tournament team that won in the World Series when he was about 12 or so.”
The events on September 11, 2001 are what set his future plans in motion. “After 9/11 is when he decided that he was going to be a soldier,” he proudly said. “He always wanted to be a Marine, but he hurt his Achilles tendon playing baseball, so he couldn’t pass the PT part of being a Marine, so he joined the Navy instead. He served four years on an aircraft carrier.”
After serving, he came home to Louisiana, got married and started a family. “His wife had a daughter from a previous relationship, and they had another daughter together,” he said. “But he loved those girls like you wouldn’t believe. He was a truly outstanding father. Loved them with all his heart.”
“He just loved everybody. He’s one of those happy-go-lucky guys who always made people laugh. He always had something silly going on. You’d just shake your head and say, ‘That’s something only Charlie would do.’ That’s how he was.”
A new reality
Dean said the last couple of months have been incredibly tough, but he and his family are grateful for the outpouring of support they’ve received. “It’s unbelievable, the support we’ve had from the public and the sheriff’s offices and the parish officials,” he said.
“We’re trying to do the best for our grandchildren, his children and his wife. It’s hard, but you gotta push through and make sure that his family’s taken care of. I’m retired, so I can spend as much time as I want with my grandkids, and that’s how I cope.”
“If you knew Charlie, he’d be grinning like a chicken because of all the attention he was getting. The huge funeral they gave him, and police escorts, and now this bonfire. Somebody’s looking down and smiling about that right now.”
2025 bonfire event
Dean says everyone is invited to come out to this year’s Christmas Eve bonfire. “Come by and make comments on the bonfire. It’s open to the public, so anybody who wants to pass by, just come on by. We always have a good time. We have a pretty decent crowd.”
The fire will be lit at 7 p.m. sharp Dec. 24. “If you’re going to come, you need to get there early, because right at dark, the traffic will be backed up. You can’t move.”
The final message Riley has this holiday season: “Everybody be safe. Be aware of your surroundings. Especially the law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers get home safe to your families. Be careful.”
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