John Riggs

I've already mentioned several times my relationship with John and I always hoped someone in his family would contact me. This has been a good year.

My uncles absence still weighs heavily on my heart. I miss our conversations and the wisdom you shared. I long to call you again, seeking answers to questions about our family's history and stories untold. Though my memory can't hold every word, your legacy lives on in so many. I find solace knowing you're reunited with - Jacky, with your sisters Grammy and Aunt Pat, as well as my Dad now. Imagining you together brings me comfort. In moments of grief, I sit in silence, wishing I could...

Another year passes. Since Vivienne and John have gone, I've communicated now and then with Domonique, Vivienne's daughter, I guess just to maintain a connection but it's not the same. The world's just not as bright without Vivienne in it, and I miss my email discussions with John. The time I spent in Reno with them was one of the happier times in my life and I miss those days and my friends. wayne dot tippin @ gmail dot com

I found this image on a Facebook page containing old military photos with the following caption: IWO JIMA. Original Caption: Pfc. John A. Riggs of Reno, Nevada, shakes out his pancho in front of his foxhole home on side of a hill near Iwo Jima's No. 1 airfield. May 1945. (N.A.) I did a search and found this page, thought I would share.

John was a close friend of mine and is missed. He had said he wanted a geographic feature named for him, which required a person to be dead 5 years. We're proposing to name the ridge east of Carson River and north of McTarnahan Hill as Riggs Ridge. It's also near the prisons where he worked. An e-mail of support can be sent through the website (google it) of the Nevada State Board on Geographic Names.

Another year has rushed past, and I'll be 83 this year. Last year, 2022, wasn't a good one. Sadly, John's sister Vivienne passed away, and now the whole family is gone. I remember meeting the Riggs family in 1961 when John was just a teenager and Vivienne and I worked at Harrah's Club. I'm so sorry I didn't visit Vivienne that last time I was in Reno. Now it's too late. John and his sister have both gone. It hurts to grow old and see loved friends pass away.

It was very good to read the several messages left in John´s memory. I knew John from the U.S. Jaycee Senate. It was so enlightening to listen to John´s stories. I so enjoyed sitting down with him and learning. As a past teacher of high school history myself, I learned a lot from him.

Six years now since John passed. Time flies and at my age, memories grow dim. No one wants to discuss the Civil War with me since John died. I see Vivienne moved back to Sparks and I know she misses John. He was a nice person and a good man. I enjoyed talking with him. wayne dot tippin @ gmail dot com

Another year has passed - time flies. I went through Reno a while back - I wanted to stop by John's grave to pay my respects and say hello to Vivienne over in Sparks, but I was pressed for time. I used to enjoy John's emails as we discussed the Civil War and Reno back in 1962. Those days are fading away now, like all of us, I guess. It's hard to believe I was 21 and Vivienne was 22, and I think John was about 16 then. Such a long time ago. wayne dot tippin @ gmail dot com