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Centenarian Celebrates Birthday & 79th Anniversary
by
Howard Roden |
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Monday,
November 12, 2012
The Courier
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WILLIS – To achieve 79 years of marital bliss, Ralph and Mary Lou Riggs
have relied on a straightforward philosophy.
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“You have to be friends with each other,” Mary Lou said. “You don’t
mistreat your friends.”
With his wife Mary
Lou looking on, Ralph Riggs blows out the candles on his
100th birthday cake
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Nearly 200 family members and friends gathered at the Riggs’ 42-acre
ranch north of Willis Saturday for a two-fold celebration. In addition
to the couple’s 79th wedding anniversary (which was Nov. 4), Ralph Riggs
was recognized for reaching his 100th birthday, which is today.
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“I
don’t have any magic to offer you (about hitting the century mark),” he
said. “But I know one thing: Time is precious. Don’t squander time.”
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Ralph Riggs, 100, looks on as his wife, Mary Lou, holds
5-month-old great-grandchild Caitlynn Riggs. Caitlynn is the
youngest member of the Riggs clan
Currently, the Riggs clan includes six children, 17 grandchildren and 27
great-grandchildren, with 5-month-old Caitlynn Riggs the youngest of the
great-grandchildren. Numerous nephews and nieces – some coming from as
far away as Pennsylvania and Hawaii – attended the celebration.
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“It’s good to see so many people here,” Ralph Riggs said.
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Born in 1912, the same year as the sinking of the Titanic, Ralph Riggs
has clear memories of growing up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. One of
his earliest jobs was delivering milk to customers with a horse-drawn
buggy.
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It was in 1929 that Ralph Riggs’ family moved to Bedford, Pa., where he
became “a football hero” in high school, Mary Lou Riggs said. There, he
met his future bride. They were married four years later.
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“He
was very popular,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
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“She was the best-looking girl in school,” Ralph Riggs said.
Ralph & Mary Lou
when they were in high
school at Bedford, Pa., in the early 1930s.
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Maintaining such a lengthy marriage is the norm – not the exception – in
the Riggs family. Youngest daughter Mari Ann Lisenbe and her husband
Steve have been married 37 years. Son John Riggs and wife Merline have
kept the knot tied for 50 years. And son Charlie Riggs and spouse
Stephanie have been married 44 years.
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“They’re steady, people of their word,” Steve Lisenbe said of his
in-laws. “They believe in respect and trust of each other.”
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Steve and Mari Ann Lisenbe live next door to her parents. She said her
parents provided advice whenever there was a slight bump in the road in
their relationship.
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“My
mother told me early on not to bring my problems to her. She told me to
‘work it out,’” Lisenbe said.
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It
was near the end of World War II that Ralph Riggs, working in the
Pittsburgh steel mills, got word there were plenty of jobs in Texas. So
he packed up and journeyed south to Houston, where he worked for Armco
Steel for 30 years until his retirement in 1975.
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“I
didn’t know a soul in Texas, but moving down here was the best thing I
ever did,” Ralph said.
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In
1968, Riggs moved his family from Galena Park to their current address
in Willis, where he’s raised a variety of animals. The ranch also has
been a oversized playground for the young ones.
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“It
was always my dream to get back to the farm,” he said. |
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couple celebrate 80 years of marriage
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