Services to celebrate the life, family, and friends of Darrell Philip Riggs, better known as “Phil,” a resident of Sitka since 1961, have been scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, April 9, at Sitka Assembly of God Church.
A reception will follow in the fellowship hall and those attending are asked to bring finger foods and their good memories of Phil.
With his wife Sue by his side, Phil Riggs passed away on March 22, 2016, in Las Cruces, N.M. He was 66.
He was born Aug. 3, 1949, in Kenova, West Virginia, the second child of Lindsey and Leona Riggs. When he was a youngster, his family moved several times between West Virginia and California, but came to settle in Sitka in 1961.
It was here that Phil and his dad enjoyed the outdoors, fishing and hunting together. Phil excelled at baseball in the community programs and basketball at Sitka High School. He graduated from Sitka High School in 1967. He had a great interest in math, fostered by his teacher Duke Dunsing, and studied math at his dad’s alma mater, Marshall University, with a baseball scholarship. He graduated in 1971.
It was there he met his future wife, Sue, and he brought her and their son Rich back to Sitka in 1971. Eight years later, in 1979, their daughter Julie was born at Sitka Community Hospital.
Phil was primarily a commercial fisherman and fishing charter operator during his life, but he also taught in the Sitka schools, sharing his love of mathematics. In the ’70s he taught for three years at Blatchley Middle School, where he also coached basketball. Later, in the ’80s, he taught calculus and was a SNEP tutor at Sitka High.
As a commercial fisherman, he trolled and longlined with his boats the Silver Sea, the Chuck-A-Nan, the Greta, and the Allure, up and down the Southeast Alaska coast along with his peers in the fleet, many of whom were lifelong friends both on and off the water.
As trolling days became fewer, he used his vessels, the Greta and then the Allure, to offer extended charters for sports fishermen from all over the United States. Most of those clients became good friends as well as clients, and were saddened as well to hear of his passing.
Phil also worked in the seafood industry as a processor. In the late ’60s and early ’70s he worked at Sitka Cold Storage, until the fire of 1973. Later, in 1978, he bought the Kathi-R, a 125- foot floating processor that he operated in the Bristol Bay region, buying both salmon and herring. Most recently, Phil worked at Silver Bay Seafoods where he thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the SBS herring team; developing fond relationships with the SBS fleet, employees, and customers.
For years, Phil loved the hunting and sport fishing opportunities Sitka had to offer. He did annual deer hunting trips with his family and friends and many of these individuals have more than one story of a memorable hunt or a first hunt that included Phil. A related memorable tradition that Phil started was producing and sharing venison pepperoni, sausage, and salami. He had a similar passion for sharing smoked salmon he produced, including his signature smoked salmon dip.
When Phil wasn’t out enjoying the outdoors or harvesting and preparing its bounty, he often found enjoyment in playing cards . . . a memory his children, grandchildren, and many friends shared with Phil.
In later years, Phil often sought the warmth of Deming, N.M., where his parents had retired and resettled. He spent time there hunting birds and traveling throughout the southwest, in addition to enjoying time with his family. He made many trips to Mexico, often accompanied by Sue, where he would visit friends and spend time fishing, exploring, and walking. He also went on almost annual hunting trips to Colorado and trips to Newfoundland, one with his son Rich that he greatly enjoyed. The last 10 years, he has also been an avid Sudoku puzzle addict, keeping his analytical mind sharp.
Phil was preceded in death by his father, Lindsey Riggs, in 2010.
He is survived by his wife, Sue, of Sitka, and his two much loved children and their families, son Rich and his wife Nicole, of Sitka, and their children Lindsey, Sidney, and Cole; and daughter, Julie and her husband, Kevin Wakley, of Tulsa, Okla., and their children Cooper and Chloe.
He is also survived by his mother, Leona Riggs, of Deming, N.M.; his sister Sandy and her husband David, of Deming; his brother Ricky and his wife Chris, of Coos Bay, Ore.; his “other brother” Gus Bell, of Sitka; and numerous cousins, nephews, and nieces.
He loved being a part of his grandchildren’s lives . . . whether it be taking Sidney and Lindsey out on the Allure for week-long outdoor adventures when they first moved to Sitka; buying both Cole and Cooper their first rifles, and following that up by mentoring Cole and his good friend Wayne through a hunter safety course as soon as they became a responsible age, and instructing Cooper on gun safety a few years later; taking Cooper and Chloe (who affectionately called their grandpa “Papa Phil”) out fishing in Juneau during his last trip there; and watching, cheering and coaching his grandkids as they pursued and participated in various athletics, which he thoroughly enjoyed.
Phil had a lifelong passion for learning, teaching and sharing . . . not only in the formal sense as a student and an educator, but even more so in sharing lessons he had learned along life’s path. He was selfless, brilliant, and dynamic in his willingness to unconditionally share his knowledge and experiences with family, friends and strangers alike.
“While those of us who were ‘students’ of Phil are saddened by his death, we can also find comfort in knowing that Phil is in a better place and he was at peace with God’s plan,” his family said.
