Cumberland, Maryland - "Randy" Randall (Hillegas) Riggs, 67, Cumberland, Md., passed away surrounded by family at home after a three-year battle with a glioblastoma. He was born June 10, 1958, in Barberton, Ohio, to Coren Ruth Kratzer Riggs and Lester Merlin Riggs. He lived in Barberton until his father passed away, then he moved to Cumberland when his Mom married his stepfather, Dale Hillegas.

Randy graduated from Fort Hill High School and was a proud member of the 1975 Maryland Class A State Champion Football Team and an All-City Guard. He then went to Frostburg State, where he got his degree in business administration with a concentration in finance and economics. After college, he started R. Hillegas Construction, which later became Hillegas Construction Inc. Randy was a quality builder of custom homes; he remodeled, renovated and built commercial buildings in our area. He took so much pride in his work. He and Kathy also owned Cumberland Cycles. He loved all his employees and thought of them as family. He valued his clients and became good friends with many of them.

Randy married the love of his life, Kathy Nixon (Hillegas) Riggs, Aug. 26, 1989. They had their wedding at their home on their front porch and the reception in the backyard. It wasn't fancy, but it was perfect. Randy loved his home more than any other place, as does Kathy. They went to Santee Cooper, S.C., catfishing on their honeymoon. Then they continued to go there for many years with friends and catch giant catfish. Together they rescued and loved many furry children, dogs and cats. They were his babies.

Randy loved to hunt from an early age, especially with his family in Calhoun County, W.Va. He also loved hunting in Nebraska and Colorado with his friends he considered family. He looked forward to hunting season every year. He also enjoyed shooting his bow with Kathy and his friends.

Randy loved shooting pool and played on several pool teams in the area. He was an excellent pool shot.

Randy started racing dirt bikes in 1998. He raced 30-40 races a year and trained for it year-round. He treated racing like his job. He worked and trained to be the best he could be. This training lead him to road, mountain and trail biking. He loved taking off from his house with his friends and riding for miles up and down the mountains. He also loved to bike Dan's Mountain or the trails at Rocky Gap.

For 10 years, he taught the 6 a.m. spin class at the Y twice a week for training. He was No. 201 in the GNCC, which was the No. 1 rider in his class and the morning races. He had to move to the morning races since the AMA would not let a 50-year-old race a three-hour race. He was No. 1 in many series in his class, including the National Hare Scrambles, National Endures, District 5, District 7 and many other series. His best result was May 5, 2013, in a GNCC race in Kentucky. It was raining, they shortened the race, combining the morning and afternoon races. Randy came in 20th overall, beating many pros and top riders at the age of 55. At the GNCC banquet that year, the riders voted Randy and awarded him the 2013 Bad Ass Award because of his endurance and speed in a very tough race. Then, two weeks later, on May 19, 2013, Randy had an accident in the GNCC in Indiana, leaving him a quadriplegic at level C3 & C4, with severe nerve damage. Through racing, Randy met so many new friends who were always there for him. He loved them and considered them family as well.

Once Randy was able to get home after eight long months (five in Indiana and three in NJ), he started to recover and actively work again. He worked in the office doing estimates, billing, drawing plans and being at the jobs as well. Randy worked seven days a week, anywhere from six to 12 hours a day. He never stopped; he loved to work.

Randy was always a strong lifter. He loved to work out. After college, he was a Maryland State lifter. He also lifted throughout the years, especially for race training. In the last five years he went to Life Fitness and worked with a trainer two times a week. He had special gloves that would hook on to the equipment and he could lift, some on his own and some with his trainer, Justin. This made him so happy. He also had a RT300 bike at home he could ride. He could push on his own, but if he could not, the motor would take over and he would still get a workout. Kathy stretched him every morning. Randy liked to stay active.

Randy was very talented and hard-working. No matter what he did, he excelled and succeeded. He was a human calculator. He could do any math in his head faster than you could punch it in a calculator. He was not like anyone else. He liked to have fun; he was ornery and always wanted everyone to be happy. He was the best storyteller, and no matter what his adventure — and he had many — you felt like you were there with him. He loved his family and friends, and told them that often. He was the best husband and furry baby daddy.

Randy is survived by his wife of 36 years, Kathy; his furry family which includes dogs, Sadie, Blaze, Star, Huck and Harmony, cats, Cinder, Pumpkin, Sabrina and Simba; his stepfather, Dale Hillegas; sister, Sherri Schaidt; nephew, Hunter Schaidt; sister-in-law, Barbie Nixon; niece, Caleigh Shade; niece, Ella Shade; and mother-in-law, Dottie Nixon.

Randy was able to go to the Fort Hill-Dunbar pre-game on Sept. 12, 2025, for the 50th anniversary of the 1975 State Championship game. He saw many of his teammates and friends and was very happy to have gone. He was overwhelmed by the kindness of his friends. He also saw many of his close family and friends the last several weeks that stopped by to see him at home. This meant everything to him.

Thank you to all the doctors, nurses and medical staff the last 12 years. There are too many to list, but they all mean so much and helped during a difficult time. Thank you to our employees for working with Randy as the situation changed. You hung in there and gave him a purpose. Thank you to all our family, friends and employees who made trips to Indiana, New Jersey and here at home to visit Randy. He loved having visitors and seeing the people he loved.

There will be a graveside service officiated by Pastor Kathy Emerick at Hillcrest Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, at 10 a.m. for family and close friends. Pall bearers will be Bill Browning, Kenny Caton, Dave Creegan Jr., Couter, Mike Matthews and Dave Redman. Honorary pall bearers will be AW Demott, Randy Kilander, Dave Shade, Ray Tighe and Nate Youngblood.

If you would like to make a donation in Randy's memory, please send it to Allegany County Animal Shelter Foundation, Whiskers Inc., Safe Shelter Inc., Meow Mission Coalition or Bedford County Humane Society.