Obituary for Mildred "Louise" Riggs (Bias)
Mildred “Louise” Bias Riggs, age 102, of Bridgeport, WV passed away on Monday, December 27, 2021. Born February 11, 1919, in Holden, Logan County, WV, she was the daughter of Stella Ann Stewart Bias and Andrew Jackson Bias.
Mrs. Riggs, after the early death of her mother, was raised in the West Virginia state child-care system. After a short stay in a county child-care facility in Stollings, WV, Louise was relocated to Elkins, WV, for longer term placement at the West Virginia Children’s Home. There, as an older youngster, Louise was entrusted with the responsibility of assisting with the care of the younger female residents by being responsible for play time activities, baths, and bedtime preparation. While living in Elkins, she attended Tygarts Valley and Elkins High School. Around the age of 16, Louise was moved to Meadowbrook, WV, under the supervision and care of foster parents, Willard B., and Bernice Virginia Orr at which time she attended Shinnston High School. While living in Meadowbrook, she met her future husband, Cleo Cletus Riggs, whom she married May 8, 1937. She shared her life with him for 71 years prior to his death on January 1, 2009. Louise is the last surviving member of her immediate family of four sisters (Goldie, Gracie Lee, Jessie May, and Hazel Marie) and seven brothers (Chelsie, Clarence, Joseph Herbert, Marshall Dallas, Grover, Lonnie, and Farley).
The mother of three children, Mrs. Riggs was preceded in death by her sons, Robert “Bob” Wayne Riggs and Richard “Dick” Cleo Riggs. She was also preceded in death by her son Bob’s wife, Pamela Hyre Cropp Riggs. She is survived by her daughter, Janet Riggs Bianconi and husband John of South Charleston, WV, and daughter-in-law Carol Romano Riggs. In addition, Mrs. Riggs was known as “MomMom” to eight grandchildren: Robert Matthew Riggs and wife Kimberly, Michael Wayne Riggs and companion Michele Berry, Richard Cleo Riggs Jr., Daniel Charles Riggs, Karyann Riggs, David John Riggs, Lisa Marie Bianconi-Lewis and husband Douglas, and Tierney Lane Bianconi and husband David DeSimone. MomMom Riggs was especially close to her great-granddaughter Olivia Lewis, and great-grandsons, Spencer and Emerson Lewis of Richmond, Virginia, who spent many of their childhood summers at her residence in Bridgeport. She is also survived by a dedicated and devoted niece, Hilda Walls Stallman and her husband Bob and nephew Dwight “Skip” Walls.
Early in her youth Mrs. Riggs learned the necessities to successfully survive in her environment having been raised in the state child-care system. Considering her early childhood upbringing, Mrs. Riggs always felt an obligation to attend to the needs of the less fortunate and quietly supported the efforts of charities with that mission. Upon her marriage she became a homemaker and supportive wife. Along with her husband she helped with farming activities such as taking care of and milking the cows and selling the by-products while creating and maintaining the family home. Her home and kitchen were always open to her family and friends. She could quickly prepare a delicious meal and set another plate at the table for unexpected guests. Her family has fond memories of her baking skills, especially the various kinds of delicious pies she routinely made. The family understood and enjoyed her self-taught culinary skills as an expression and extension of her love. Later in her life Mrs. Riggs worked in the financial office of Montgomery Ward in Clarksburg, WV until its closing at which time she assisted her son Bob with bookkeeping activities at the Riggs Exxon Service Center located in Bridgeport, WV.
Louise leaves a legacy of feminine independence to her daughter, granddaughters, and great-granddaughter, in whom she instilled a fierce determination to stand on one’s own ability and the reverence for education along with the possibilities it presented for equality and opportunity. Her wish for her caregivers at the Clarksburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is for them to know and understand how important their daily responsiveness to the needs of the elderly speaks to their own humanity. She expressed on many occasions that she felt she was a grandmother figure to many of her attendants who also called her “MomMom”. The family wants each of her caregivers to know how much their daily interactions, communications, and individual assistance meant to her and was so greatly appreciated by her and her family as well.
Louise loved children, so in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to WVU Medicine Children’s Development Office, Suncrest Center, One Medical Center Drive, Box 8200 (Suite 350, Van Voorhis), Morgantown, WV 26506; or St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Memorial Giving, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
The family will receive friends at the Burnside Funeral Home, 607 S. Virginia Avenue, Bridgeport, WV, on Friday, December 31, 2021, from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m., where a funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. with Rev. Tom Horne presiding. Interment will follow in the Bridgeport Cemetery.
Mrs. Riggs, after the early death of her mother, was raised in the West Virginia state child-care system. After a short stay in a county child-care facility in Stollings, WV, Louise was relocated to Elkins, WV, for longer term placement at the West Virginia Children’s Home. There, as an older youngster, Louise was entrusted with the responsibility of assisting with the care of the younger female residents by being responsible for play time activities, baths, and bedtime preparation. While living in Elkins, she attended Tygarts Valley and Elkins High School. Around the age of 16, Louise was moved to Meadowbrook, WV, under the supervision and care of foster parents, Willard B., and Bernice Virginia Orr at which time she attended Shinnston High School. While living in Meadowbrook, she met her future husband, Cleo Cletus Riggs, whom she married May 8, 1937. She shared her life with him for 71 years prior to his death on January 1, 2009. Louise is the last surviving member of her immediate family of four sisters (Goldie, Gracie Lee, Jessie May, and Hazel Marie) and seven brothers (Chelsie, Clarence, Joseph Herbert, Marshall Dallas, Grover, Lonnie, and Farley).
The mother of three children, Mrs. Riggs was preceded in death by her sons, Robert “Bob” Wayne Riggs and Richard “Dick” Cleo Riggs. She was also preceded in death by her son Bob’s wife, Pamela Hyre Cropp Riggs. She is survived by her daughter, Janet Riggs Bianconi and husband John of South Charleston, WV, and daughter-in-law Carol Romano Riggs. In addition, Mrs. Riggs was known as “MomMom” to eight grandchildren: Robert Matthew Riggs and wife Kimberly, Michael Wayne Riggs and companion Michele Berry, Richard Cleo Riggs Jr., Daniel Charles Riggs, Karyann Riggs, David John Riggs, Lisa Marie Bianconi-Lewis and husband Douglas, and Tierney Lane Bianconi and husband David DeSimone. MomMom Riggs was especially close to her great-granddaughter Olivia Lewis, and great-grandsons, Spencer and Emerson Lewis of Richmond, Virginia, who spent many of their childhood summers at her residence in Bridgeport. She is also survived by a dedicated and devoted niece, Hilda Walls Stallman and her husband Bob and nephew Dwight “Skip” Walls.
Early in her youth Mrs. Riggs learned the necessities to successfully survive in her environment having been raised in the state child-care system. Considering her early childhood upbringing, Mrs. Riggs always felt an obligation to attend to the needs of the less fortunate and quietly supported the efforts of charities with that mission. Upon her marriage she became a homemaker and supportive wife. Along with her husband she helped with farming activities such as taking care of and milking the cows and selling the by-products while creating and maintaining the family home. Her home and kitchen were always open to her family and friends. She could quickly prepare a delicious meal and set another plate at the table for unexpected guests. Her family has fond memories of her baking skills, especially the various kinds of delicious pies she routinely made. The family understood and enjoyed her self-taught culinary skills as an expression and extension of her love. Later in her life Mrs. Riggs worked in the financial office of Montgomery Ward in Clarksburg, WV until its closing at which time she assisted her son Bob with bookkeeping activities at the Riggs Exxon Service Center located in Bridgeport, WV.
Louise leaves a legacy of feminine independence to her daughter, granddaughters, and great-granddaughter, in whom she instilled a fierce determination to stand on one’s own ability and the reverence for education along with the possibilities it presented for equality and opportunity. Her wish for her caregivers at the Clarksburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is for them to know and understand how important their daily responsiveness to the needs of the elderly speaks to their own humanity. She expressed on many occasions that she felt she was a grandmother figure to many of her attendants who also called her “MomMom”. The family wants each of her caregivers to know how much their daily interactions, communications, and individual assistance meant to her and was so greatly appreciated by her and her family as well.
Louise loved children, so in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to WVU Medicine Children’s Development Office, Suncrest Center, One Medical Center Drive, Box 8200 (Suite 350, Van Voorhis), Morgantown, WV 26506; or St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Memorial Giving, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
The family will receive friends at the Burnside Funeral Home, 607 S. Virginia Avenue, Bridgeport, WV, on Friday, December 31, 2021, from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m., where a funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. with Rev. Tom Horne presiding. Interment will follow in the Bridgeport Cemetery.