Sr.,
Sr., B. Riggan
d. March 13, 2007
Waynesboro, Virginia
Retired EPA Scientist Passes at Age 92
Wilson B. Riggan, Sr., PhD passed away on March 11, 2007 at Avante Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Waynesboro, VA. Dr. Riggan had resided there since the death of his wife, Edna Downs Riggan, in December 2000. Predeceased also by his brother, David T. Riggan and a sister, Mary D. Irving, d.Ed, Dr. Riggan is survived by his other sister, Ellen R. Webb of Waynesboro, VA, his children Pearl R. Adamson of Richmond, VA, Wilson Jr. of Palm City, FL, Jesse E. Riggan of Durham, NC, and step-daughter Ann J. Cass, of Wakefield, VA, his 10 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.
Dr. Riggan was born on September 15, 1914 and raised on the family farm in Surry County, VA, near the town of Waverly. After high school, he enlisted in the Merchant Marines, where he served until the end of World War II. By the end of the war he had gone to OCS, achieved the rank of Lieutenant, and was the supervisor at diesel propulsion school for engineers and maintenance personnel in Milwaukee, WI. Then Dr. Riggan embarked on his second career, agriculture. He earned a BS from Virginia Tech and a PhD from North Carolina State University, and taught at NC State and the University of Florida for several years.
Government service called again in 1964, when Dr. Riggan joined a predecessor organization of the Environmental Protection Agency as a research scientist. Dr. Rigganâ??s career, most of which was in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and lasted until his retirement in the early 1990â??s, concentrated on documenting and evaluating the health effects of components of air pollution. This was the source data necessary for the EPA to be able to set standards for human exposures and to establish the regulations with which to enforce those limits. Most notable among his publications and contributions was the long-term project of calculating and publishing cancer mortality rates and trends for every county in the United States over several decades. For the last 30 of the 40 years of the underlying data base, it includes every death record in the country, not just those which indicate a cancer as a cause of death. This database and publication are still in use by researchers who seek to identify relationships between exposures to environmental factors and causes of deaths.
Dr. Riggan has been a life-long member of the United Methodist Church, from Carsley UMC in Surry County, VA, to Epworth UMC in Durham, NC. He has held leadership positions from superintendent of Sunday schools to lay leader and Board chairman. His academic and professional honors include memberships in Alpha Zeta, Phi Kappa Phi, and listings in American Men of Science and Whoâ??s Who of the Southeast.
Services will be at 2:00 p.m. on March 17th at Purviance Chapel, J. T. Morriss & Son Funeral Homes and Cremation Service, 11414 General Mahone Highway, Wakefield, VA, with the Rev. Ray Rowland officiating. Interment with military rites will follow in the Waverly Cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Memorial Fund of Epworth United Methodist Church, 3002 University Drive, Durham, NC 27707.
Retired EPA Scientist Passes at Age 92
Wilson B. Riggan, Sr., PhD passed away on March 11, 2007 at Avante Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Waynesboro, VA. Dr. Riggan had resided there since the death of his wife, Edna Downs Riggan, in December 2000. Predeceased also by his brother, David T. Riggan and a sister, Mary D. Irving, d.Ed, Dr. Riggan is survived by his other sister, Ellen R. Webb of Waynesboro, VA, his children Pearl R. Adamson of Richmond, VA, Wilson Jr. of Palm City, FL, Jesse E. Riggan of Durham, NC, and step-daughter Ann J. Cass, of Wakefield, VA, his 10 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.
Dr. Riggan was born on September 15, 1914 and raised on the family farm in Surry County, VA, near the town of Waverly. After high school, he enlisted in the Merchant Marines, where he served until the end of World War II. By the end of the war he had gone to OCS, achieved the rank of Lieutenant, and was the supervisor at diesel propulsion school for engineers and maintenance personnel in Milwaukee, WI. Then Dr. Riggan embarked on his second career, agriculture. He earned a BS from Virginia Tech and a PhD from North Carolina State University, and taught at NC State and the University of Florida for several years.
Government service called again in 1964, when Dr. Riggan joined a predecessor organization of the Environmental Protection Agency as a research scientist. Dr. Rigganâ??s career, most of which was in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and lasted until his retirement in the early 1990â??s, concentrated on documenting and evaluating the health effects of components of air pollution. This was the source data necessary for the EPA to be able to set standards for human exposures and to establish the regulations with which to enforce those limits. Most notable among his publications and contributions was the long-term project of calculating and publishing cancer mortality rates and trends for every county in the United States over several decades. For the last 30 of the 40 years of the underlying data base, it includes every death record in the country, not just those which indicate a cancer as a cause of death. This database and publication are still in use by researchers who seek to identify relationships between exposures to environmental factors and causes of deaths.
Dr. Riggan has been a life-long member of the United Methodist Church, from Carsley UMC in Surry County, VA, to Epworth UMC in Durham, NC. He has held leadership positions from superintendent of Sunday schools to lay leader and Board chairman. His academic and professional honors include memberships in Alpha Zeta, Phi Kappa Phi, and listings in American Men of Science and Whoâ??s Who of the Southeast.
Services will be at 2:00 p.m. on March 17th at Purviance Chapel, J. T. Morriss & Son Funeral Homes and Cremation Service, 11414 General Mahone Highway, Wakefield, VA, with the Rev. Ray Rowland officiating. Interment with military rites will follow in the Waverly Cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Memorial Fund of Epworth United Methodist Church, 3002 University Drive, Durham, NC 27707.
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