funeral on Dave Spriggs

Rita Spriggs Funeral Service

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 09:59:15 -0400

My mom’s funeral service was held on October 20 at Welcome Door Baptist Church, with Pastor Brian Taylor officiating. We are grateful to the family and friends who were able to be there. It meant a great deal to see so many people who loved her, and it was a comfort to share the day with them.

I am posting the video of the service for the family and friends who were not able to attend. I hope it lets you be a part of the day, even from a distance.

Watch the funeral service video

Her obituary and the arrangements are still on the site if you would like to read more about her. Thank you for the prayers, cards, and kind words. They have meant more than I can say.

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:59:04 -0400

I’m grateful for my family.

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 11:09:52 -0400

Here is a brief video of my mom on Thanksgiving Day in 2008.

She was a beautiful soul and even though she has only been gone 1 day, I miss her terribly.

Rita Spriggs Obituary and Funeral Arrangements

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 10:54:17 -0400

Rita Lou Spriggs, March 1, 1944 – October 16, 2026

My mom, Rita Lou Spriggs, passed away at home on October 16, 2026. I shared that briefly when it happened. I’m posting her obituary and the arrangements here so the details are easy to find. They are also on her page at Burroughs Funeral Home, which is where I would look first for any changes.

Visitation: Monday, October 19, 2026, 6:00 to 8:00 PM, at Burroughs Funeral Home, 1382 NC Highway 65 West, Walnut Cove, NC 27052.

Viewing: Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 10:30 to 11:00 AM, at Welcome Door Baptist Church, 6741 Vance Road, Kernersville, NC 27284.

Funeral service: Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 11:00 AM, at Welcome Door Baptist Church, with Pastor Brian Taylor officiating.

Interment: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 1:30 PM, at Salisbury National Cemetery, 501 Statesville Boulevard, Salisbury, NC 28144.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 1801 Westchester Drive, High Point, NC 27262. Online condolences may be shared at burroughsfuneralhome.com.

Obituary

Rita Lou Pence Spriggs entered into Glory at her home in Walnut Cove, North Carolina, on October 16, 2026.

Rita was born on March 1, 1944, in Charleston, West Virginia, to the late Clifford Henry Pence and Ruth Virginia Webb Pence. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers, Paul Royce, James Donavan, and Troy Virgil. Rita lived the first fifteen years of her life in Coal Fork, Campbells Creek, West Virginia, where her father mined coal for thirty-seven years and her mother was a wonderful homemaker. In 1959, when Rita’s mother became totally blind, the family relocated to Lansing, Michigan, to be near two of Rita’s brothers, who were then public-school teachers. Rita graduated from J.W. Sexton Senior High School and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University. She then invested thirty years as an exemplary teacher of English, literature and drama with the Bath (Michigan) Community Schools.

Rita was raised in a dedicated Christian family where faith and daily life went hand in hand. A lifelong practicing Christian, she and her husband, Jerry, raised two sons, Jerry David Junior “Dave”, and Matthew “Matt” Jason.

Rita’s calling in life was as an educator and a witness to youth. She was recognized by Who’s Who Among American Teachers for her excellent work, and she dearly loved her students and became lifelong friends with many of her students and colleagues. Her skill and intellect were inspiring, but it was her sweet and tender love for others that left such a lasting impact.

In their fifty-seven years of marriage, Rita and Jerry lived in Michigan, Washington, Illinois, and North Carolina, where they spent their last twenty-eight years. Rita enjoyed the love and support of her church family at Welcome Door Baptist Church.

Rita is survived by her husband, Jerry; her sons and daughters-in-law, Dave and Julie, and Matt and Katherine; granddaughters, Amanda (Will) and Emily; sister-in-law Anna Ruth Pence; nieces Lee Ann Garza (Michael) and Tamara Phillips (Carl); nephews, Paul D. Pence (Judy), Steve Pence (Delsie), Troy Scott (Sheila), and James Pence; nieces-once-removed Christina Bowden (Matt), Autumn Pence, Allison Harris, Lacie Cockerham, Suzie Lenzmeier, and Paige Pence; nephews-once-removed Michael Garza (Malory), Gregory Garza (Becca), Griffin Phillips, and Troy David Pence; extended family; and her former student, Anne (Risch) Verplank, who became like a daughter to her and spent time with her even during the final weeks of her life.

If you would like to know more about the kind of person my mom was, I wrote about her last month in My Mother’s Kindness. Thank you to everyone who has sent prayers and kind words.

My Mother's Kindness

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 21:23:04 -0400

My mother, around 1964

My mother, Rita, was born in 1944 to Clifford and Ruth Pence — the youngest of four and the last of them still living. She was always close to her three older brothers, Paul, Don, and Troy. Paul, the oldest, died in 2024.

She grew up in Campbell’s Creek, West Virginia. Her father was a coal miner and her mother a homemaker, and the family didn’t have electricity until she was in middle school. Despite their limited means, she describes the family as “wealthy” — rich in love for each other and faith in God. She was a good student and enjoyed growing up in West Virginia. When she was a 17-year-old senior in high school, the family relocated to Michigan. That was a major adjustment for her.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Michigan State University and had an exemplary career as a high school English teacher. At Bath High School she sponsored several senior trips and led the drama program, and she was listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Decades after she retired, former students still call and visit her.

She met Jerry Spriggs and they married in 1969. She raised two boys, my brother Matt and me. She was wonderfully patient and kind with us, and she sacrificed for our family in more ways than I understood at the time. I had health problems as a baby and a young child, and she wouldn’t leave the hospital until I was discharged — often sitting up in a chair beside my bed all night. She made sure Matt and I felt loved and celebrated on our birthdays, at school events, and at every other milestone.

She was meticulous about remembering birthdays and anniversaries, and not only for family. She kept shelves of greeting cards for every occasion, along with her mailing lists. Sending cards and gifts was nearly a full-time job. Even after Matt and I were grown, her love for babies and small children never faded. Several neighbors thought of her as a surrogate grandmother, and she kept sending them cards for years.

My mother in her kitchen

My mother is remarkably intuitive and empathic, and unusually gifted at encouraging people. Julie and I lived with my parents for a few years after we married in 1996, and Julie came to know her well in that time.

In 2021, my mother began a serious health decline. It has been very hard on her, but I still see her kind heart in our time together. Over the past few years she has lost the ability to send cards and to keep track of the dates that mattered so much to her. I imagine a lot of people have noticed, and miss hearing from her.

I work in the mental health field, and I find it deeply fulfilling to help people work through what’s hurting them. Julie once told me I inherited my mother’s emotional sensitivity. I took that as a high compliment — I am very proud of my mother’s kind and giving heart.

I am sure that much of my best work with patients traces back to her. In a real way, I think of her as present in it — and I doubt I’m the only one who feels that. Her health has interrupted the cards and the calls, but not the kindness behind them. That is still going, carried now by the people who received it.

My mother and me