Claire Winchester Riggins

View Video Tribute Claire Winchester Riggins, 59, wife of Ronnie Riggins, died Saturday, March 30, 2013 at Perry Community Hospital in Linden.Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at Oakes & Nichols with Rev. Tony Brown and Rev. Johnny Haywood officiating. Burial will follow in Polk Memorial Gardens. The family will visit with friends Monday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. The family suggests memorials to Cancer Treatment Centers of America, 2520 Elisha Avenue, Zion, Illinois 60099. Notes of condolence may be extended at oakesandnichols.com.The Maury County native was the daughter of the late Joe Thomas Winchester and Lillian Holland Winchester and a 1972 graduate of Columbia Central High School.For several years, she worked at the main office of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation. She then retired after thirty years of service from the Tennessee Department of Human Services.After her retirement, she and her husband moved to the Lobelville Community and built a retirement home overlooking the Tennessee River. They greatly enjoyed spending countless hours with their family and friends on the water. Claire was loved by all.On April 4, 1972, she married "the love of her life," Ronnie Riggins. She is also survived by her sons, Jeffrey (Theresa) Riggins and Jason (Tammy) Riggins, both of Columbia; grandchildren, Cameron Riggins, Tyler Staggs, Kailee Staggs, Kelsie Riggins, Paxton Riggins, and Connor Parsons; sister, Josephine (Jerry) Blocker of Culleoka; nephew, David (Sabrina) Blocker of Pulaski; great-nieces and great-nephew, Kristen Blocker, Kennedy Blocker, Bayleigh Blocker, and Jacob Brooks; uncle, James Winchester of Columbia; aunts, Betty (Donald) Lunn of Columbia, Bessie Heithcock of Franklin, and Billy Holland of San Antonio, Texas; and numerous cousins.Active pallbearers include Rudy Hamilton, Chuck Beasley, Joey Allen, Tommy Logue, Jerry Dickey, Ted Ring, Jr., Barry Arnold, and Tony Thompson. Her Tennessee River Family will serve as honorary pallbearers.The family expresses deep appreciation to the staff of Perry Community Hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Cancer Treatment Centers of America for the care and concern during her illness.