Counting the Cost

The joyful philanthropy of longtime accountant Jerry Riggs and his wife, Gwen, has endured for more than five decades

BY LANCE FLEMING

n his memoir, Accounting For a Life Well Lived, Abilene Christian University graduate and longtime donor Jerry Don Riggs (’64) was asked what he wanted to pass on to his children. His answer defined his life, which began on July 21, 1942, in the dusty farming town of Roscoe, Texas, and ended Aug. 14, 2022, in Abilene.

“I want to pass on to my children the realization that the important thing in life is not what you own, but what you give to others: spiritually, mentally and physically,” he said in the book released just after he died at age 80.

Giving to others. Leaving a legacy. Serving people.

Riggs lived his life to those standards and modeled them for each of his three children: Stephanie (Riggs ’87) Ellis, Jon Riggs (’90) and Susan (Riggs ’93) Piersall

“Dad contributed to so many things, and anything he considered a talent or good quality, he gave back to the community,” Piersall said. “He was involved in so many things and organizations; he was always serving others.”

One of the ways he served and contributed was in the way he and his wife of 59 years, Gwenda (Covey ’64) Riggs, loved their alma mater and supported it throughout their marriage. They have contributed to the university financially for 51 consecutive years. They returned each year for Homecoming and Sing Song, and when it came time for their three children to choose a college, there was no question each would attend ACU.

Jerry and Gwen stepped up their giving in 1986 when they were visited by a former classmate who happened to be the dean of the College of Business Administration, who was in the midst of a fundraising campaign to build what would become the Mabee Business Building.

“Dr. Bill Petty (’64) called the house one day and wanted to come by and visit, and so he did. I was supposed to be getting a new house, but that house flew right out the window, and Bill Petty got the money for my new house,” she laughed. “But we were happy to give the money because ACU meant so much to us and our family.”

In his memoir, Jerry recalls meeting the woman he would call in the book’s dedication “the best role model a person could ever wish for, especially when it comes to the example you demonstrate through your strength, character and integrity.” Gwen had spent her first two years of college at Lubbock Christian University and then West Texas A&M University before transferring to ACU for her final two years.

“My roommate from Lubbock Christian had transferred to ACU the summer before I got here in the fall,” Gwen recalled. “She met Jerry and wrote me a letter saying, ‘I have met someone that you’re going to meet and fall in love with; I just know it.’ Well, I got to Abilene, and I met Jerry the second week of school. I was pinned in October, he asked me to marry him in November, I got a ring in January, and we were married in May. So … she was right.”

After graduation, the couple moved to Midland, Texas, where Jerry was a staff accountant for Shell Oil Company. He later worked in Houston and in Fort Worth for Arthur Anderson. In 1972 he began a CPA practice in Sweetwater, Texas, that became known in 1977 as Riggs & Wootan PC. He served as a board member or president of the Sweetwater Industrial Foundation, the Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce and the Sweetwater Rotary Club; board chair of the Sweetwater Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital; president of the Mustang Booster Club and Nolan County Foundation; and as a trustee of the West Texas Girl Scout Council and the National WASP WWII Museum. Sweetwater’s Chamber of Commerce named him Man of the Year in 2007. All the while, Jerry and Gwen supported ACU and the projects the growing university was undertaking.

Jerry and Gwen’s philanthropy to ACU included establishing the D.S. and Pauline Riggs Endowed Scholarship in honor of his parents, the Jerry and Gwen Riggs Faculty Development Endowment, and the Jerry D. Riggs CPA Endowment for Accounting Excellence. The most recent endowment was established by Gwen in December 2022 to honor her husband’s life, with a goal of helping advance excellent outcomes for accounting students, including successful completion of the Certified Public Accounting exam administered in Texas and other states.

“Jerry loved accounting, and he loved ACU,” Gwen said. “I wanted to establish that endowment for him because of his love for both. When we were in school – and I’m sure it’s the same now – the professors gave him a good foundation in accounting and business, and it was the basis for the life we lived. That life allowed us to always give back to the institution, and that’s what he wanted.”

One of the final questions Jerry was asked in his memoir was what characteristics make a close friend. He said, “… someone who is reliable, steadfast, loyal, truthful, and will always be there for you.” He could have been talking about himself. And that’s how Gwen wants her husband – who loved Jesus, his wife, his children, his friends and ACU – to be remembered.

“How do you say in a word or two how one institution can mean so much to two people who unite, stay together, and continue their beliefs in a way that they want others to follow?” she asked. “I think you do that by providing endowments so others can experience the same thing and have the same opportunities.”

That’s precisely how you say it. 