June 28, 1947 – December 3, 2012
Born June 28, 1947, in Groton, Massachusetts Bruce passed away on December 3, 2012, in San Francisco. Bruce is survived by: his mother Pauline A. Riggs of Keene, New Hampshire; brother Robert F. Riggs Jr. of Winchendon, Massachusetts; five nieces, three nephews, eight grandnieces and three grandnephews; and in San Francisco, ex-wife Rose N. Riggs, close friends Tom, Kent, Mary, Larry, and Tom and fellow volunteers from Shanti.
Bruce came to San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1970, from Massachusetts and settled here, falling in love with this great city of diversity. Bruce was a longtime member of Trinity Episcopal Church. He served in the U. S. Army during the Vietnam conflict. He was a long-term survivor of AIDS, which he had been battling since July 1985. Bruce was a leading advocate and activist throughout the 1980s and 1990s for people living with AIDS. He helped create and fought for programs for those living with AIDS and HIV, and was a longtime volunteer with Shanti and other related AIDS nonprofit organizations in San Francisco.
There will be a Eucharist funeral service held on Saturday, February 2, 2013, 2 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1668 Bush Street (the corner of Bush and Gough in San Francisco), with interment in the columbarium. In lieu of flowers, the family and friends request that any donations in his memory be made to Trinity Episcopal Church or Shanti.