Viola Holthaus Rigney

Viola Holthaus Rigney, age 102, of Raleigh died on December 29, 2014. She was born on November 11, 1912 near Colesburg, Iowa to Joseph and Ella (Hartbeck) Holthaus. Vie attended Iowa State College where she received her BS degree. She was also an educator in her own right, teaching in rural schools in Iowa and then in high school upon receiving her degree. She married Jackson Ashcraft Rigney on August 28, 1939, and together they built a life of love and respect, worthy of the admiration of all who knew them.

Vie was a vibrant woman who was loved by many. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to her family as well as many “adopted” family members. She was a hard worker who was always compassionate, taking genuine interest in the lives of others. She enjoyed spending her time with the homemakers club, book club, Meals on Wheels and choir. In her spare time, she also enjoyed playing bridge and the piano, doing crossword puzzles, gardening, photographing wild flowers, chip carving, quilting, spending time at the family cabin in Boone, tending their vineyard for 20 years, and traveling the world. Vie and Jack lived their married life in Raleigh except for two and a half years in Peru and a year and a half in India. Reflecting back on her upbringing in Iowa, she became a published author with her book, Tall Corn Tales: Recollections of an Iowa Farm Girl.

She is survived by her sister, Letha Moon; three children, Jane Battenberg and husband Ron Cordek, Lee Rigney and wife Heidi and Martha Rigney and husband Ron Brande; eight grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Jack as well as one sister and three brothers.

A visitation will be held on Monday, January 5, 2015 from 6:00-8:00pm at Mitchell Funeral Home, 7209 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, NC. A memorial service will be held on January 6, 2015 at 11:00am at Springmoor Retirement Community, 1500 Sawmill Road, Raleigh, NC. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Dr. Jackson A. and Viola H. Rigney Scholarship Endowment at NC State University, College of Sciences, Campus Box 8201/116 Cox Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695. The family would like to express their appreciation to the staff at Springmoor for their love and special care shown to Vie and her family.