Rev. Kenneth Riggenbach

Rev. Kenneth G. Riggenbach, age 86 years of Niles, Michigan died peacefully at noon on Saturday, September 23, 2017, following an extended illness.

He was born on October 22, 1930 in Bay City, Michigan to Hubert T. and Lydia L. (Sinn) Riggenbach.  He graduated from Downers Grove (Illinois) High School and Saint Paul (Minnesota) Bible College (now Crown College of Saint Bonifacious, MN).  He was Ordained in the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, and served with his wife as a missionary to Indonesia for thirty-six years. They retired in 1992 and moved to Niles.

Rev. Riggenbach was a member of the Westmont (Illinois) Alliance Church (now Peace of Christ Community Church), and has been attending Calvary Baptist Church in South Bend, Indiana.  He was a licensed pilot, owned an airplane, and was a member of the board of the Jerry Tyler Municipal Airport in Niles.  He volunteered with the Pregnancy Care Center and Meals on Wheels, both in Niles.  He has always enjoyed carpentry, moving from housebuilding as a younger man to woodworking in his shop.  He was a fan of the Detroit Tigers baseball team, and always enjoyed the company of his dogs.

On August 31, 1951 in Westmont, Illinois he married the former Wilma Mae Schlatter. Last month they celebrated their sixty-sixth anniversary.

Surviving family includes his wife, Wilma Riggenbach and their children, Terry L. (Patti) Riggenbach of Niles, Jacki J. (Dallas) Liechty of Osceola, Indiana, and Rev. Scott E. (Diane) Riggenbach of Dhaka, Bangladesh; grandchildren Scott A. (Jennifer) Riggenbach, Micah (Rebecca) Riggenbach, Adam (Mary) Riggenbach, Ann (Jeffrey) Bromley, Chelsea (Ryan) Von Gunton, Graham (Elizabeth) Liechty, Jessica (Ryan) Glassman, Michael Lutin, Zac Riggenbach, Cody (Brittany) Riggenbach, Levi (Deborah) Riggenbach, and Zeke (Amanda) Scott; great-grandchildren Carsyn, Matigan, Colton, Amity, Evan, Adelyn, Owen, Ian, Isaiah, Anna, Abe, Amelia, August, Tucker, Miles, and Archer; and many nieces and nephews.

Ken was preceded in death by his parents, and by his sisters and their husbands, Shirley (Rev. Richard) Rice and Dixie (Frank) Cripps.

The funeral service for Rev. Kenneth Riggenbach will be at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 29, 2017 at Calvary Baptist Church, 3001 Cleveland Road Ext, South Bend with the Rev. Reed Anderstrom officiating, assisted by the Rev. Scott E. Riggenbach.  Committal services will be at 2:30 p.m. on Friday at the Graveside at Mission Hills, 61453 M-51, Niles.

The family will receive relatives and friends at the church beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Friday.  Contributions in memory of Rev. Riggenbach may be made to The Christian and Missionary Alliance, 8595 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO  80920. https://secure.cmalliance.org/give/.  Arrangements were made at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home in Niles.