ELLERSLIE  — On Monday, December 25, 2017– one of her favorite days of the year —  Faye Ann (Lowery) Riggs, 74, of Ellerslie passed away peacefully at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia.  She was surrounded by family members who held her hand and told her ceaselessly how much she was loved. Faye’s passing was the result of injuries she sustained in a car accident on December 10. She peacefully went to sleep on Christmas Eve and woke up in heaven on Christmas Day.

Never once in the days that followed her accident did she lose her sense of humor, her compassion for others, or her faith. Her perseverance and attitude toward her potential recovery and her steadfast love of life proved an example for others.

Faye was born March 25, 1943 in Cumberland and was the daughter of George and Anna Katherine Lowery of Corriganville.  She was preceded in death by her parents and also by her daughter, Teri Dawn (Riggs) Stephens in 2006 and by her husband of 52 years, Ronald E. Riggs who died in 2016.

She was a member of the Ellerslie United Methodist Church where she once taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and often assisted with the “candy corner” at the annual church bazaar. Faye had been an avid bowler and bowled on a league for many years. She loved to play cards and board games on Friday nights, go to the movies on Tuesday nights, and shop any night or day that she could.  She collected Disney Cinderella dolls and angel figurines and loved the color blue.  She liked to watch old westerns and “Little House” reruns on Saturday mornings.  And while her favorite time of the year was Christmas, she did not like being cold.  Faye also loved to camp and would often join friends at their campsites at Hidden Springs, Pa. And in Falling Waters, WV.

In her lifetime, Faye Riggs was employed by Footers Cleaners, Spears Jewelry, Rosenbaums Department Store, and by the A&P Market.  She was a proud graduate of Mount Savage High School and often bragged about having been a member of the May Day Court and a majorette – she would still twirl a baton when asked.

She and her family moved from Ellerslie to Massillon, Ohio in 1987 following the closure of the Kelly Springfield Plant in Cumberland where her husband was employed.  The Riggs retired in 2000 and moved back to Western Maryland, once again living in Ellerslie.

Faye is survived by a loving grandson, Cody Stephens, of Bowie, whom she had raised after her daughter’s death and was the light of her life; and by her devoted son, Shane Riggs and son-in-law William Hand, both of LaVale; by son-in-law Mark Stephens of Frostburg; one brother, George M. Lowery, and his wife, Jean of Hyndman, Pa. And by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and dear friends she considered and treated like family.

Faye was best known for her wit, her sharp sense of humor and comedic timing. Even the day before her death she was joking with family members who had come to see her about hiding her injuries with cosmetics.  It will be her humor, her laughter, and the way she loved intensely and honestly that will be most missed by those whose life she touched.

Friends will be received at the Harvey H. Zeigler Funeral Home, 169 Clarence St. Hyndman, Pa on Friday December 29, 2017  from 2 -4 p.m. and 7 –9 p.m. A service celebrating her life will be conducted at the funeral home on December 30, 2017 at 1 p.m. Friends will also be received one hour before services. Interment will be at a family plot at Porters Cemetery in Londonderry Township, Pa.