Tributes

Rose Marie Riggs was born July 19, 1926 in East Liverpool, Ohio to Parents Helen Marie Nease and Claude Delmar Nease. After her father’s death in 1932, Rose Marie grew up on her grandparents’ farm in Meigs County, Ohio with her younger brother Ken. During the Great Depression, Rose Marie’s mother, a widow, taught school in the little town of Pomeroy, Ohio, located on the Ohio River. Rose Marie graduated from Pomeroy High School with honors and received a scholarship to Ohio University in nearby Athens, Ohio. She married ‘the love of her life’ Wallace Riggs in 1946. Wally graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1945 and entered World War II as it was coming to an end. Together they embarked on his Naval career and started a family. Ronald, born in 1948, is a West Point graduate and lawyer. Steven, born in 1951, is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and holds a Masters from Carnegie Mellon in Electrical Engineering. Gordon, born in 1957, died in a car accident in 1981. Ron and his wife Mary have three daughters: Emily and husband Bob, Marie and husband Chris, and Margaret. Steve and his wife Teresa have two daughters: Kathleen and husband Erik, and Meredith and husband Tim. Adding to the family are two great granddaughters Olivia and Kate and three great grandsons Riggs, Lucas, and James. Throughout Wally’s 30-year Navy career, Rose Marie sought out meaningful volunteer work and enjoyed a great deal of entertaining at home and abroad including many diplomatic functions. They were assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece (Rose Marie’s favorite duty station) where she served as Chairman of the American Friends of the Blind in Greece, an organization that helps blind school children in the community. Prior to Wally’s assignment as Naval Attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Rose Marie and Wally graduated from the Defense Language Institute’s Spanish language program. Her language skills allowed her to enjoy friendships with foreign diplomats’ wives and families in Mexico and in the Panama Canal Zone, their last duty assignment. When Wally retired after 30 years in the Navy, Rose Marie began a successful 21-year career in Real Estate in San Antonio and Boerne, Texas. Rose Marie and Wally spent more than 28 years living in Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas, where Wally helped with the development of the ranch. They enjoyed traveling to China, Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Korea, etc., and in their 37-foot motorhome in the States. Rose Marie loved to cook and she loved telling her granddaughters and great grandchildren stories of her many adventures. Losing her 23-year-old son Gordon in 1981 and Wally in 2006 were the most difficult times in her life. Rose Marie loved her family and we continue to love her. She made the world a better place for 92 years, and she will be missed by family and many many friends all over the world.

Tributes

Rose Marie Riggs

July 19, 1926 - December 6, 2018