Glenn E. Riggs Sr. | Company owner, 71

Glenn E. Riggs Sr., 71, of Bryn Mawr, a retired company owner, died of cancer Sunday at home.

Mr. Riggs bought J.W. Bickers Tree Service in 1974 and operated it until retiring in February.

A native of Kentucky, he served in the Army in West Germany in the early 1950s. He remained in the Army Reserve until 1961.

After his active duty, he worked in coal mines in West Virginia. In 1957, he went to work for J.W. Bickers after moving to the Main Line to seek better employment opportunities, said his wife, Theresa Kucharski Riggs.

He also worked at a gas station at night in King of Prussia and met his future wife at a nearby Horn & Hardart's restaurant, where she was a waitress. They married in 1963.

He could fix anything from snowplows to vacuum cleaners, his wife said, and enjoyed home-improvement projects.

For more than 35 years, Mr. Riggs was a volunteer with the Bryn Mawr Fire Company and served on its board.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by sons Samuel, Glenn Jr., Jonathan and William; daughters Christine Whitworth, Donna Thomas and Roberta; a brother; three sisters; and 11 grandchildren.

A funeral will begin at noon tomorrow at the McConaghy Funeral Home, 328 W. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, where friends may call after 10 a.m. Burial will be in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.