Obituary of Francis Gifford Briggs

Francis Gifford Briggs, longtime federal employee In one way or another, Francis Gifford Briggs worked for the federal government for most of his life. The Florence resident, who died Monday at 85, started working for Uncle Sam before World War II in Washington, D.C. He was a human resources manager, and did similar work for the Army Air Corps during World War II, where he was stationed in Burma and India. After the war, he worked for the Social Security Administration for several years, then moved back to his native Kentucky in the mid-1950s. He worked in human resources at the Taft government center in Cincinnati until he retired in 1980. Then he became a member of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. Mr. Briggs met his wife, Mary Ritter, before the war in Washington. They were introduced through their mothers, who went to school together in Lexington. Married in 1942, they would remain so until her death in 1999. When their five sons were growing up, Mr. Briggs coached some of them on the Florence Merchants Knothole baseball team. He also served as their troop leader in the Boy Scouts. Personality wise, "he was kind of quiet," said his son, Charles H. Briggs of Nicholasville. In his free time, Mr. Briggs liked to read books about sports and history. He also subscribed to and read both Cincinnati newspapers, the Courier-Journal and the Washington Post. Other survivors include sons, Richard L. Briggs and William M. Briggs, both of Florence, Lindsey T. Briggs of Georgetown and Robert A. Briggs of Union; brothers, Charles Bernard Briggs of Dayton, Ohio, and Richard Briggs of West Point; 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger.