William Robertson Trigg III

TRIGG, William Robertson III, 90, passed away peacefully on September 11, 2008 in Princeton, New Jersey. He was born May 20, 1918 in Richmond, Va. to William Robertson Jr. and Emma Gray Trigg. After obtaining a Bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, he entered graduate school at Harvard University. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the U.S. Army and saw action as an officer in Northern Africa, Italy, France and Belgium. He was awarded the Legion of Merit, Italian Cross of Military Valor, and four Bronze Stars for service to his country. In 1949, he married Louisa Hagner and began a life dedicated to public service. In Europe, he worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency and the U.S. Foreign Service. This was followed by more than two decades service with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Vietnam and Brazil, and the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. For two decades after his retirement, he worked as an information specialist at the Smithsonian Institution. People from all walks of life and every corner of the world knew him as a friend. He loved travel, spiritual reflection, science, music and cooking, and was known for his generosity of spirit and strength of intellect. He is survived and dearly missed by his loving wife of 59 years, Louisa Hagner Trigg; sister, Emma Gray Emory, brother, Landon Trigg; his children, Roberta, Randall, Jonathan and Mary; his foster son, Vo Hong Son; and by his loving grandchildren, Jason, Emily, Liana, Cameron, Alyssa, Margaret, Julia, Will and Kai. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, September 18, at Immanuel-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Va. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Smithsonian Institution or American Friends Service Committee.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.