William "Bill" J. Riggs

William "Bill" Johnson Riggs, age 87, formerly of Alexandria, MN, died on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in his room at Three Links Care Center in Northfield, MN, after enjoying breakfast and conversation with other residents. 

Visitation will be held from 4:00-7:00 PM on Friday, March 20th, 2026, at Anderson Funeral Home. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, March 21st, 2026, at First Congregational United Church of Christ with visitation one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be held at Geneva Cemetery at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Vintage Band Festival Agency Fund or Outreach Food Shelf and can be given to the family.

He was born in Thief River Falls, MN, on Dec. 27, 1938, to Ronald Riggs and Eleanor Johnson Riggs. Eleanor decided that one bitter winter up north was enough, so Ronald quit his high school band director job that next spring and the family moved to St. Cloud, where Eleanor taught piano lessons and Ronald directed the band at St. Cloud Teachers College (now St. Cloud State University). Ronald later became a political science professor at the college.

Bill and his younger siblings Bob and Dana grew up in a house next to the college and next door to Dr. Claude Lewis, brother of author Sinclair Lewis. He attended Riverview Elementary, an innovative school where student teachers from the college gained practical experience.

As a student at St. Cloud Technical High School, he participated in band, choir, student council, National Honor Society, discussion club, and debate. His mentor, social studies teacher and debate coach Nick Begich, later moved to Alaska, became a U.S. Congressman, and died in an unsolved plane crash in 1972 along with House Majority Leader Hale Boggs.

Bill joined Boy Scout Troop 14, attained his Eagle Scout Award, and worked as a summer camp counselor at Camp Clyde near Brainerd during high school and college. In 1956—11 years after World War II ended—he was one of 42 Scouts from the United States selected to travel to the Philippines and Japan by ship and attend the Japanese National Boy Scout Jamboree. The trip fostered Bill’s lifelong interest in human relations and finding commonalities among people.

In the spring of his senior year, he participated in the National High School Band, which performed at the Music Educators National Conference in St. Louis. Although Bill wanted to enroll at St. Olaf College in Northfield to study music, his dad urged him to attend the local college instead. Bill participated on St. Cloud State’s debate team, played trumpet in several bands, and was named “Man of the Year” by the senior class. He graduated with a double major in speech and social studies and a minor in music.

He moved to Alexandria in 1960 to teach at Jefferson Senior High School. One year later, he met the new French teacher on staff, Anne Falvey. After an exciting faculty romance that enthralled their students, Bill and Anne married on July 15, 1963. They had a son, Peter; a daughter Michèle, who died of SIDS at age 4 months; and a daughter Joy.

Bill taught social studies, psychology, and speech at Jefferson for 35 years. He served as an adviser for yearbook and National Honor Society, and was a debate coach for most of his career. In 1987, he and Ron Domschot, his friend and social studies colleague, traveled to the Soviet Union with other teachers from the United States for a cultural exchange during the time Mikhail Gorbachev was leading that country toward social democracy. Through words and actions, Bill endeavored to instill in his students a curiosity about the world beyond the borders of Douglas County. He encouraged them to think critically and take responsibility for their own learning and was a big believer in extra credit. He served on the Minnesota Education Association’s Western South UniServ for most of his teaching years and was active in the Alexandria Education Association.

Upon retiring from District 206 he taught social studies methods and education classes at the University of Minnesota-Morris and supervised student teachers. During his ten years at Morris, he also received a grant to work on technology in education.

Although he served as chairman of the Douglas County Republicans in the 1960s, living through the Nixon years and living with an Irish Catholic Democrat influenced his decision to join the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party. Over the years he worked on local political campaigns for several friends and maintained a vast collection of political cartoons.

During his years in Alexandria, he served on the boards of the Alexandria Area Arts Association and the Alexandria Public Schools Education Foundation, volunteered for the food shelf, was active in the Lake L’Homme Dieu Association and in the First Lutheran Church, and taught community education classes—including one on jazz. He played his trumpet for countless weddings, funerals and services at churches all over the county and beyond. He also served as a bugler for the American Legion and played taps for funerals of veterans. In 2018, he and Anne were named grand marshals of the 34th Annual Vikingland Band Festival for their long record of supporting the arts and education in Alexandria.

Bill was instrumental in starting the Alexandria Big Band with Glenn Flint, which performed regularly at the Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood, and he was a member of his friend Paul Engebretson’s band, Doc’s All Stars, for many years. In the early 2000s Bill played in the St. Cloud Municipal Band, which was once directed by his paternal grandfather, G. Oliver Riggs. Bill invited his daughter Joy to help him gather materials about the band’s history and assisted with her research as she turned G. Oliver’s story into the nonfiction book Crackerjack Bands and Hometown Boosters: The Story of a Minnesota Music Man (Nodin Press 2019).

Bill’s last regular gig was playing with the Tuesday Nightclub at the Garden Bar in Alexandria. After he and Anne moved to Northfield in 2023, he set his horn aside but continued to attend concerts. Two months before he died, he and Joy watched the St. Olaf Jazz I concert via live stream, and he particularly appreciated the arrangement of “When I Fall in Love.”

Bill was devoted to Anne, his wife of 61 years, who died Jan. 8, 2025. He was kind and generous with his time and talents, deeply cared about his family, and built community wherever he went. The world needs more humans like him.

He is survived by his son, Pete Riggs, of Glendale, AZ; his daughter Joy Riggs and son-in-law, Steve Lawler, of Northfield; grandchildren Louisa Lawler (Annalise Hollosy), Sebastian Lawler, Kayci Riggs, Elias Lawler (Nameera Dawood), Lauren Riggs, Sam Riggs, and A.J. Riggs; brother Bob Riggs and sister-in-law Debbi Riggs of Lakeville; sister Dana Lowell and brother-in-law Bill Lowell of White Bear Lake Township; numerous nieces and nephews and other relatives; and countless friends.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife, Anne, and daughter Michèle.

Bill’s family expresses its gratitude to the staff at Three Links Care Center and Allina Hospice for taking excellent care of Bill in his final months. Toward the end, he often thought he was back on campus in Morris. The lessons he taught throughout his life until his last breaths will live on in those who knew and loved him.

Visitation will be held on Friday, March 20, 2026, from 4-7 p.m. at Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria. A celebration of Bill’s life will be held on Saturday, March 21, at 11 a.m. at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Alexandria, with visitation one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be held at Geneva Cemetery at a later date.