Hollis Riggins Jr.

Hollis (Bubba) Riggins, Jr. was born in Shaw, MS on September 25, 1938 to the late Hollis Riggins, Sr and the late Mary McClendon Riggins. From this union, six beautiful children were born. He was their only son.

Hollis accepted Christ at an early age and set off on a quest to find his place in this world.

At the age of 17, he met and fell in love with Mary Lewis and the two were married for 42 glorious years until the Lord called her home in January of 1997. To this union, nine amazing children were born; six boys and three girls.

Hollis came from very humble and meager beginnings. With a very limited formal education, he and his new bride moved to Cairo, IL to start their family. Eight of their nine children were born there. Here he worked for Cairo Packers Co and performed other odd jobs to provide from his family.

After several years, Hollis received an offer he couldn’t turn down. He was hired with a construction crew to build the St. Louis Arch! He didn’t hesitate to relocate his family to East Saint Louis, IL and make a better life for them. He and Mary were blessed to add their final and complete addition to this union, a baby girl.

Hollis was introduced to the skill that changed the trajectory of his life……construction. He mastered several skills (brick masonry, roofing, flooring and tiling, plumbing and landscaping). He became a loyal member of the Laborer Local Union #53 from 1959 until his retirement in 1995; This led to a long, satisfying career with Anheuser Busch via Accurate Construction until his retirement. Because Hollis was ambitious and didn’t know the meaning of the word “quit”, he became a police officer with the Brooklyn, IL PD and later Washington Park, IL PD where he retired as a lieutenant after 37 dedicated years. But unlike most of us who look forward to retiring, Hollis wanted yet even more out of life. It was during his retirement that he and his wife, Mary, founded the Hollis Riggins Construction Company in St. Louis, MO in 1995. Oh, but wait! Hollis had so many more vast accomplishments even before retiring. In the early 1970’s, he started his own private security company where he secured several contracts including Jupiter’s Discount Store; he and his wife, Mary owned H&M Variety Store, two apartment buildings and one rental home. He completed his general education studies and finally received his well earned high school diploma in 1984; he extended his studies further by attending Southern Community College where he earned credits towards an Associates Degree (all while working at Anheuser Busch, Washington Park PD and raising nine children)! Now, fast forward to his glorious retirement years where Hollis Riggins Construction Company was founded from 1995 to 2020. Drumroll please………Hollis secured contracts to lay the foundation for a total of 3 Walmart stores in Missouri, grossing over $7 million each! He also contracted his services and is credited with building several bridges and road projects in St. Louis, MO.

That was Hollis the businessman, entrepreneur and pioneer. Now, let’s meet Hollis (Bubba) our dad. He was a drummer in a local band where he played on weekends in Sikeston, MO; he was a junior weight boxer; some of his favorite past times were weight lifting (at age 70, he was still bench pressing over 200 pounds), jogging and cycling around the neighborhood. He could often be found home on the weekends, painting, tiling and handling plumbing issues. ANYBODY who was acquainted with him, knows how much he LOVED wrestling. He would often take his family to the Kiehl Auditorium in St. Louis, MO to watch “live” wrestling up close and personal, oftentimes with his baby girl sitting in his lap. He loved to sing and had a very melodic tenor and bass range. We’re still not sure how he did it, but he never missed a holiday, birthday, school event, or picnic (often going to the park with his sons at 5am to secure a space and start the “queuing”), Sunday morning rides to church in his squad car were so exciting! He was always well groomed from head to toe. He loved trimming his nails and toes and loved putting on some “smell good”. His love and commitment to his family was “effortless”. His doors were always open to family members who needed a place to stay. We enjoyed summer roadtrips to Minneapolis to visit our grandparents and other family. We never missed the annual carnivals that came to town, often coming home with stuffed animals and yummy treats to fill our bellies. 4th of July was always spent at the Riverfront in St. Louis, MO, watching the beautiful fireworks display.

Many people are fortunate to have one love of their life, but God blessed dad with a “2nd time around”. A couple of short years after the passing of his first wife Mary, Hollis was able to find love again in his 2nd wife, Evern Baker of East St. Louis, IL. The two met and married in June 1999 and remained united until his untimely passing. Evern and Hollis enjoyed a beautiful marriage of 22 years and 5 months! They enjoyed travelling in the early part of the marriage, but their all time favorite past time was watching wrestling and listening to blues songs while sharing a delicious meal. Hollis found the perfect partner to share his past times. When you visit their home, there was often good, tasty food to eat and a good movie or TV show to watch. They enjoyed teasing each other and talking “smack”. Their home became “Grand Central Station” for parties, dinners and events. During Hollis’ final years, as his health began to fail, Evern stepped in her role as primary caregiver. She cooked, fed and transported him to dr’s visits and other appointments, and an occasional drive through the city. Both seemed to enjoy the many, scrumptious meals prepared by their loving grand daughter, Deanna. Dad oftentimes called around to see what she was cooking for him today. Evern faithfully remained by his side until God said, “You have fought the good fight. You have finished your course. It’s time to come on home where you can finally rest.”

He is preceded in death by his parents Hollis and Mary McClendon Riggins, his 1st wife, Mary Lewis Riggins, eldest son, Hollis Carter, 5th son, Ernest Dwayne Riggins and his baby boy, Chris Cardell Riggins.

He leaves to cherish a legacy rich with family history and memories, his loving wife (Evern Baker Riggins, Fairview Heights, IL), one stepson (Jeff B. Williams; East St. Louis, IL); Mary Ann (Ronald) Gines (Florissant, MO), Hollis Riggins, III (Cahokia, IL); Dorothy Carter (Minneapolis, MN); Robert L Riggins (Las Angeles, CA); Johnny B. Riggins (Minneapolis, MN); James E. (Rubye) Riggins (Fairview Heights, IL; Janice Riggins Watson (Marietta, GA); and Donna R. Riggins (Reno, NV), two sisters, Luella (Shug) Tatum and Gloria Jean McKissic, both from Minneapolis, MN; two honorary sons, Wendell Marshall and Vince Anderson. Two honorary daughters, Shirley (Peaches) Armstrong and Barbara Ann Townley, 43 grandchildren, 45 great grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.