Former American statesman, sportswriter Randy Riggs, who worked for the paper for over 36 years before retiring in 2013, died Thursday afternoon at his South Austin home after a nearly two-year battle with liposarcoma cancer. He was 71 years old.
Riggs was born in Vienna, West Virginia, where he lived with his family until his parents moved to Cleburne while he was in elementary school.
He graduated from the University of North Texas, now the University of North Texas, with a journalism degree before embarking on a distinguished professional career with the Lubbock Avalanche Journal, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, and the Statesman. Riggs played various sports such as Texas Longhorns football, basketball, and track and field; Texas A&M Football; Southwest Conference; and professional sports from the Houston Oilers to the San Antonio Spurs.
Riggs is survived by his wife, Patti Smith Riggs; son Adam Phillip Riggs; daughter Katherine “Kathy” Lee Riggs; sisters-in-law Fran Steele and Becky Zientara; and brother-in-law Joseph Garrett.
The service will be held at 1:00 pm on January 28 at Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church, 5226 W. William Cannon Drive in Austin. Instead of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be sent to the Texas Search and Rescue Service (https://www.texsar.org/donate) and Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church (https://www.shpc.org/give). .
