Virginia Louise Riggs

101 year old Virginia Louise Riggs was called to her heavenly home on November 13, 2023, embracing the joy of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Born in Fairfax, Washington, in 1922 to Estelle Robinson and Otto Oscar Rapp, Virginia’s storied journey of faith was a testament to her enduring love for Christ.

As a young girl, Virginia was a self-proclaimed tomboy who loved sports and could keep up with all of her older siblings. During her senior year at Lewiston High School she was proclaimed the “Queen of the Bengal Follies” which surprised no one other than herself as she was quite shy and unaware of her great beauty.

At 22, Virginia moved to California, where she met her husband, Michael Morton. Together they had three children: Drake, Brooke, and Lisa, whom they would raise alongside Michael’s two other children, Madelynn and Monte who would also call her “mom”. Virginia and Michael remained married for 19 years.

Her subsequent marriage to Peter Riggs in 1969 marked a pivotal chapter in her spiritual exploration. Together, they initially pursued the teaching of Hinduism and Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. However, it was through her relationship with Peter that Virginia encountered the Christian faith, which would come to define the remainder of her life.

In 1978 Peter reconnected with his former roots in Christianity and challenged Virginia to pick up the one book she had dismissed throughout all of her spiritual seeking. The Bible. Once she began to read and explore this life-changing book, she renounced her former beliefs and came to trust in Christ alone. She would tell you this was the beginning of a life of “Divine Contentment”. Together she and Peter led their children out of new age beliefs introducing them to the Bible and to faith in Christ. They shared their 30 year marriage dedicated to studying, sharing and living out the Gospel. They traveled the world together extensively and remained deeply in love until his passing in 1999.

To know Virginia was to know her deep love and appreciation for all things beautiful. She loved her family. She loved her friends and her children’s friends. She prayed faithfully for each and every one. She was known to many as a “Prayer Warrior” and was often recruited to pray for their families. She loved her church, her neighbors, her doctor, her gardener, her housekeeper, the waiter, the waitress, the sales clerk. . . She was extravagant with her praise and felt she could never fully convey just how much she loved each one in her life! It is an understatement to say she was extraordinarily generous with everyone. No wonder so many people young and old, would gravitate to this effervescent Godly woman with her tremendous gift of “encouragement”. Her example of faith continues to be a source of inspiration and guidance to many, particularly her children and grandchildren.

Virginia leaves behind her 3 children Drake Morton, Brooke Balzano, and Lisa Zamperini, step children, Madelynn Von Ritz and Monte Morton, two grandchildren, Clayton August Zamperini, and Zoë Balzano along with step-grandchildren Kelle Erwin, Beau Collins, Chance Cooper, Allegra Duda, Jeff Ibach and Tracy MacGugan.

If there is ONE thing Virginia would want each of her friends and family to know, it is from the Gospel of John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall never perish but have eternal life”.

We can say with great confidence that Virginia is now “Dwelling in the house of the Lord….forever!”

In lieu of flowers, Virginia requested donations be made to The Louis Zamperini Foundation - https://www.zamperini.org/donate

Memorial to be held December 30, 2023 at Bethany Bible Church, Thousand Oaks, Ca.