Robert W. Wiggs, 77, suffered a fatal heart attack on May 4, 2019 while riding his bike through the Rocky Mountains north of Durango, Colorado. Bob was born in El Paso, Texas on June 29, 1941 to Martin and Dorothy (Parrot) Wiggs. He attended Austin High School, Texas Western College (UTEP), and graduated from Northwestern University Dental School. It was the era of the Vietnam War and he served in the U.S. Air Force for two years before returning to El Paso to open his dental practice.
Every day of the forty-nine years that he practiced dentistry he worked diligently to care for the needs of his patients. He believed that each patient deserved to be seen at the scheduled time, receive the best care he could offer, and be treated as fairly as possible. He loved his patients and the wonderful staff who were partners with him in making his practice successful.
In 1977 Bob met and married Cheryl (Elkins) Wiggs. He spent the next forty-two years being a great husband to a wife who adored him. Each of the children in their combined family of five received his unconditional love. He taught them by example to work hard, love generously, and to be just and honorable to everyone. And later the family was blessed with two bonus daughters.
Everyone who knew Bob well knew that he loved God, his family and competitive sports. He played football and ran track at Austin High School. Later he took up running and became an aggressive skier. There were several years spent in trying to perfect his golf game, followed by the era of inline skating. Many thanks to the drivers in the Upper Valley who avoided running over him as he raced around the neighborhood on his skates. His final, and probably best loved sport was cycling. He found many kindred spirits in the El Paso Bike Club and loved being part of this wonderful group of athletes. A very special thank you to Coach Felix Hinojosa who, with patience and wisdom, tried to help Bob achieve his athletic goals.
Bob is survived by his wife, Cheryl; his children, Shane (Linnea), Sherlyn (David) Johanson, Kimberly (Will) Keliehor, Wade (Elizabeth) Tunnell, James Tunnell, Viktoriya Baytser (Alexander Shekhter), Tatiana (Nikita) Litasova, eleven grandchildren: Noah, Kylie, Kolten, Grayson, Audrey, Elise, Liam, Emma, Meredith, Daniel, Troy, and by his sister Barbara (Jake) Young.
Bob’s favorite charity was Jardine de Milagros, 496 Wallace Rd. Anthony, NM, 88021
