Mary Louise Riggins Clever

Mary Louise Riggins Clever passed into eternal life on June 15th, 2026, at her son’s home in Lynchburg, VA. Mary Lou was born Dec 2, 1932, in Yorktown, Virginia where she grew up.

She enjoyed water skiing, clamming, crabbing, and tennis. After graduating from Poquoson High School, where her activities included band, basketball, and cheerleading, she began her career as an administrative assistant with the US government.

She married her husband “Clever” and, because of his career with the space program, made moves to places such as Florida, New Mexico, England, Maryland, Okinawa, and back to Virginia. These moves offered opportunities for a variety of jobs (including stenographer, court reporter, real estate assistant, paralegal, and work in the York County treasurer’s office). She never hesitated to make a friend, and three times she fostered children in different places she lived.

Mary Lou is preceded in death by her father Alva Harlan (Fuzzy) Riggins, her husband Edwin Charles Clever, her mother Lucy Soles Riggins and her two brothers. She is survived by her son The Rev. Dr. A.J. Edwin Clever, her grandsons Edwin Charles (Chad) Clever II and Christopher Shankle Clever, and her two daughters in law Theresa Witherson Clever and Tara Sampson Clever.

Services will be held at Crooks Memorial United Methodist Church at 1:30, June 26, 2026, with a reception following. Her inurnment will take place as a private family service at the Wesley Chapel UMC Cemetery in Chuckatuck.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church in Suffolk (Chuckatuck).

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg is assisting the family