2007.05.05: May 5, 2007: Headlines: Obituaries: Staff: Directors - Vaughn: Religion: Greatest Generation: Maryland: DC: Oklahoma:: PCOL Exclusive: Returned Volunteers and Staff honor Peace Corps Architect Warren Wiggins at Memorial Service in Manassas, Virginia
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2007.05.05: May 5, 2007: Headlines: Obituaries: Staff: Directors - Vaughn: Religion: Greatest Generation: Maryland: DC: Oklahoma:: PCOL Exclusive: Returned Volunteers and Staff honor Peace Corps Architect Warren Wiggins at Memorial Service in Manassas, Virginia
Returned Volunteers and Staff honor Peace Corps Architect Warren Wiggins at Memorial Service in Manassas, Virginia
Returned Volunteers and Staff honor Peace Corps Architect Warren Wiggins at Memorial Service in Manassas, Virginia
Returned Volunteers and Staff join in to honor Peace Corps Architect Warren Wiggins at Memorial Service in Virginia
PCOL Exclusive
Caption: Reverend Nancy McDonald Ladd of the Bull Run Unitarian Universalists' Church of Manassas, Virginia gives the opening words at the Memorial Service held for Peace Corps Architect Warren Wiggins on Friday, May 4, 2007. Photo: PCOL Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0
Returned Volunteers and Staff drove to the "Bull Run Unitarian Universalists' Church" in Manassas last Friday, May 4 attend a Memorial Service for Peace Corps Architect Warren Wiggins.
Mrs. Edna Wiggins and her children greeted guests at the door of the church.
Inside the church Peace Corps Volunteers and Staff like former Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn, former Peace Corps Country Director for Ethiopia and Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford, former Country Director for Togo and Niger and later Peace Corps Africa Regional Director and President of Africare C. Payne Lucas and his wife, Sierra Leone RPCV and NPCA Chairman Emertisus Pat Reilly and her husband Philippines RPCV Dick Irish, NPCA President and Thailand RPCV Kevin Quigley, and David Arnold, Editor of NPCA's Worldview magazine.
Other RPCV and Staff attending included Kevin Lowther of Africare, Gretchen Handwerger, Ruth McKennzie Scott, B. J. Warren, and Carolyn Ramsey.
The Memorial Service began at 1 pm with Gathering Music played by Annease Hastings on the piano.
Reverend Lou Mitchell gave the Opening Words and Prayer of Thanksgiving.
After the choir and congregation sang "Gather the Spirit", John Bender read a selection from the writings of Warren Wiggins from a boy of 6 who wanted to "lasso the moon" to a young man who served in the Army Air Forces during World War II flying transport planes "over the Hump" in the China-India-Burma theater and received a Distinguished Flying Cross.
The choir sang the anthem "Fire of Committment."
Philippines RPCV Dick Irish asked how many members of the memorial service had served either in the Peace Corps or with TransCentury and then gave his personal tribute to Warren Wiggiins remembering how Wiggins gave him his first job at Peace Corps Headquarters after he returned after his service in the Philippines, how he went with Wiggins to the first TransCentury offices in Washington DC, Wiggins' management style, and the first government contracts.
Faye Cowan rose and read excerpts from a letter from a group in Sierra Leone who came together through TransCentury and are still working for the goals of social justice twenty years later.
After the BRVV Adult Chior sang "God in my Head," Reverend Nancy McDonald Ladd gave the eulogy to Warren Wiggins recalling his many contributions and the love his family and friends had for him.
After the service, the Wiggins famiy invited all the guests to stay for light refreshments in the Fellowship Hall after the memorial service.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: May, 2007; Obituaries; Staff; Jack Vaughn (Director 1966- 1969); Religion; The Greatest Generation; Maryland; District of Columbia; Oklahoma; Virginia
When this story was posted in May 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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