We Remember
John R. Riggs, age 86, of Lewes, DE, died Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, DE. Born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on May 31, 1923, he was the son of the late Jeptha and Stella (Shanks) Riggs.
John relocated to Lewes 25 years ago from the Long Island, NY area after retiring as the editor of Popular Electronics magazine in Manhattan. In Lewes, he was an avid collector of antiques, a member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church of Lewes and a member of their AA chapter. John was active in local theatre, including the Possum Point Players and Baystar Dinner Theatre. He was a world traveler, especially in Europe, and spent his retirement as a driver for Meals on Wheels. He was a volunteer driver for AIDS patients getting them to their medical and hospital appointments. He and his companion, Gilbert Shisler, did some of the origional fund raising for AIDS in the Rehoboth area.
In addition to his parents, John was preceded in death by his partner of 20 years, Robert Arada and his beloved black lab, Maggie, his sister Margaret and brother Robert. John is survived by his companion, Gilbert Shisler of Lewes; one sister, Ruth Alice Finnegan and husband Ted of Lexington, MA; three nieces: Sheila MacCrelish and husband Bruce of Belmont, MA, Ellen Hoffman and husband Roger of Ontario, Canada and Betty Borghezani and husband Roger of Lexington, MA; one nephew, Richard Riggs of Hayward, CA; and Dear Friends, George and Joan Watson of Belmar, NJ.
Funeral Services were held on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Second and Market Streets, Lewes with the Reverend Jeffrey Ross and Reverend Steven Benedict officiating followed by interment in St. Peter’s Cemetery, Pilottown Road, Lewes.