Geraldine Rose Riggs

Geraldine Rose Kinkade Riggs (Geree), beloved mother of Kathy Riggs Larsen and Mary Riggs Jenkins, passed away peacefully in Katy, Texas on April 5, 2021—a week after her 90th birthday. Smart, talented, funny, and caring, she lived an inspiring life and touched the minds and hearts of many people wherever she was. Geree was a beautiful woman with a kind soul and generous heart, and we will miss her very much.

Born on March 27, 1931 in Spurgeon, Missouri, Geree was the youngest child of Charles Raymond and Rose Ann McDaniel Kinkade. Her competitive spirit, fueled early on by her four brothers and one sister, led Geree to graduate from Neosho High School as class valedictorian in 1948 and a straight “A” student at Joplin Junior College in 1950. In 1955, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Pittsburgh College of Education in Pittsburgh, Kansas.

At 19, Geree started her teaching career at Round Prairie School, a one-room schoolhouse in Jasper County, Missouri. With humor, grace, and a lot of elbow grease, she enriched the minds of her students (grades one through eight) as well as sweeping the floor, hauling in coal from the shed, and stoking the old coal furnace. Later, in Belton, Missouri, she landed her first secondary school teaching position at Belton High School.

After meeting him on a blind date, Geree fell in love and married a young GI—Harry K. Riggs of Joplin, Missouri—on June 1, 1956. From that day forward, the two were inseparable until Harry’s death in 2013. After Harry completed his service with the Air Force, the two of them left Joplin, Missouri and moved to Rolla, Missouri where their first daughter, Kathy, was born in 1957. From there, Geree and Harry moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, where Mary, their second daughter, was born.

In 1959, Geree and Harry relocated to Maryland. Geree pursued her love of the classroom, and taught high school business education in the Anne Arundel County school system for 32 years. She was a master at typing, shorthand, and business English, and prepared many high school students for successful careers. During the 1970s, Geree earned a Master’s degree in education from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Years later, when Geree and Harry were empty-nesters, they saw an ad in the Maryland Gazette for a dance class. They attended the lesson, which sparked a talent and passion for ballroom dancing. With an award-winning instructor as her partner, Geree’s skill and grace on the dance floor earned her numerous awards at dancing competitions for the cha-cha, waltz, rumba, tango, polka, and other dance styles. Later, with Harry as her dance partner, Geree advanced to the Gold category and won two gold medals, which were the pinnacle of her competitive dancing achievements.

After living in Maryland for 33 years, Geree retired from the school system in 1994 and moved with Harry to Ocala, Florida. Her love of teaching and ballroom dancing inspired her to volunteer her time and expertise as a ballroom dancing instructor in their new community, Ocala Palms. With Harry, she participated in the Ocala Dance Club and gave ballroom dancing demonstrations as part of the Inter-Generational Student-Senior Program at Fort King Middle School and Belleview High School. Geree also served with an outreach group that provided entertainment for assisted living communities, nursing homes, and rehabilitation facilities. Geree lost her dance partner and her best friend when Harry succumbed to cancer in 2013.

Her ballroom dancing experience is featured in the article, “From Clodhoppers to Satin Slippers,” on coffeehousewriters.com.

In 2015, Geree moved to a senior living community in Katy, Texas to be near her daughter, Kathy. With the same enthusiasm and talent that had always guided her life, Geree sang in the chorus, painted, sewed, and participated in other activities. She was quick to lend a hand when help was needed—whether it was for an old friend or a new friend—and always did so with a smile and compassion.

Geree will be lovingly remembered by her surviving daughters Kathy and Mary; sons-in-law Kurt Larsen (Kathy) and Ashby Jenkins (Mary); grandchildren Kristina Larsen, Kory Larsen, and Emily Jenkins; great-grandson James Larsen; and her brother Thomas Kinkade. Geree will be laid to rest with Harry and other family members at the Osborne Cemetery in Joplin, Missouri.