Richard J. Carrigan


Richard J. Carrigan, 92, of Nashville, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Sunday, July 15, 2018 at his home. Richard was born in Sturgis, Mich. on August 4, 1925, the son of the late Andrew and Marie (Wildren) Carrigan. He was raised in the Charlotte area and attended local schools. During his junior year of high school Richard was drafted into the United States Army to defend our country in WII. Richard fought in five major battles, including D-Day on the coastline of Normandy where his unit was the third wave to hit Omaha Beach, and the Battle of the Bulge. He was the husband of Mildred Francis (Skinner) Carrigan. Richard and Mildred were married on December 24, 1946 in Charlotte. They began their lives together in the Charlotte area, then in 1963, they purchased their family farm in Nashville where they farmed together and raised their children. Richard loved being with his family and together they enjoyed traveling to Northern Michigan to camp and hunt. Richard spent the majority of his working career as a paint formulator at Aluminum Extrusions in Charlotte before he retired in 1987. Dick loved to be outdoors hunting with his traditional archery equipment. His passion for archery was not limited to simply shooting bows and arrows, Richard was also an accomplish bow maker, crafting his own bows and arrows. He enjoyed making things out of wood, often creating birdhouses, benches, cabinets and gifts for his children and grandchildren. In his younger years, Richard was a star football player and avid boxer. He personally trained both of his boys, which led to his son’s achieving several state championships in the Golden Gloves tournaments.

Richard is survived by his beloved wife of 72 years, Mildred; two sons, Daniel Carrigan, and David (Christie) Carrigan; his two daughters, Jeanne Powell, Lorna (Tom) Brooke; grandchildren, Jared, Sean, Angel, Shilo, Joshua, Tommy, Skyler, Douglas, and Alexandra; great-grandchildren, China, Stone, Arizona, Austin, Cede, Bailey, Cody, Truit, Eden, Keenan, and Treyton; great great-grandchildren, Braelyn, Ellinor, Karter, Noah, and Quincy; and niece, Dawn (Brian) Gibbs.

Funeral services were held at Nashville Baptist Church at 4 p.m. on Friday, July 20, 2018, with Pastor Jared Carrigan and Pastor Deano Lamphere officiating. Interment with full military honors took place following the funeral luncheon at Wilcox Cemetery in Nashville.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Daniels Funeral Home in Nashville. For further details please visit danielsfuneralhome.net.