Final Salute

Richard Wayne Wiggin, born in Canton, SD to Henry and Ruth Meyer Wiggin, passed away on November 23, 2022 at the age of 97. Although predeceased by his son, Christopher, and his wife of 74 years, Helen Marie, he is survived by three children, three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

After graduating from Washington High School in Sioux Falls in 1943, Dick, as he was known to family and friends, enlisted in the military, joining the Navy, despite never having seen the ocean. Intelligence and good luck guided his path through life, and he spent the war with the SeaBees in Trinidad.

On his return to civilian life Dick went to The South Dakota School of Mines, and his luck held as he met and fell in love with Marie Kandaras, whose family hailed from Aberdeen but who had transplanted to Rapid City. They married in 1947. Together, with a family that grew over the years, they embarked upon the adventurous life about which they both had dreamed.

Dick spent his career working for governments and companies engaged in mineral and oil exploration, and this led the Wiggin family to live for years in distant places including Mexico, Libya, Australia, Indonesia, Denmark, England, Kuwait and Tunisia. On retirement, however, with children grown, Dick and Marie returned to South Dakota, settling once again in the Black Hills where they first met.

Dick was cherished by his friends for his good humor, practical intelligence, and his willingness to sing western ballads and the calypsos he learned in Trinidad, all of them, as his granddaughter would tell him, “naughty!” He filled all our passages through life with love, excitement, and happiness, and we miss him terribly.

Visitation – Thursday December 1, 2022 1:30PM at Kirk Funeral Home

Burial – Thursday December 1, 2022 3:00PM at Mountain View Cemetery

Published by Rapid City Journal on Nov. 29, 2022.