MOUNT VERNON — The afternoon sun filtered through the stained glass windows of the R.R. Hodges Auditorium in Mount Vernon on Sunday, while several hundred friends and family gathered to celebrate the life of Aiden Riggle.
The East Knox senior football captain passed away last week after a nine-month battle with cancer. Riggle was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma on his 18th birthday, Aug. 14, 2025.
Entering the lobby of the auditorium, on the campus of Mount Vernon Nazarene University, those in attendance were greeted by the East Knox football team. Riggle was the co-captain of the squad, selected by his teammates.
The music of “The Old Rugged Cross” faded as Rev Scott Sharpes, pastor of the Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene, asked those gathered to stand while the Riggle family was escorted down the main aisle.
“Today we gathered in a place none of us thought we would be, but here we are. We’ve come to honor the life of Aiden Riggle, a son, a grandson, nephew, a friend, and a teammate,” Sharpes said, “a young man whose life was far too short, left a long and lasting impact.”
Looking at the Riggle family, he said, “You walked with Aiden through every part of his journey, treatments, sometimes loss of hope, and heartbreak. You loved him and fought for him, you stood beside him in ways that only you can truly understand.”
As the pastor addressed the Bulldog athletes occupying the first four rows of the auditorium, he said, “For many of you, this may be the first time death has felt this real. However you are feeling today, whether it is sadness, confusion, anger or even numbness it’s OK.”
He then gave advice to the young people.
“As you grieve, hold on to what Aiden gave you, the friendship, the laughter the way he showed up, the way he invested in your life, the way he kept going, those are the things that stay with you.”
Following a slide presentation with pictures of Aiden, from birth to his time at East Knox, Rev. Andy Beatty, pastor and Riggle’s football coach, took the microphone.
“He was with us, even when he couldn’t physically be there,” Beatty said. “He was in the hospital watching the game with his helmet and his jersey. He was a blessing to be around, both professionally and personally.”
Dean Taylor, another of those adults with whom Aident interacted, said that the young man came to him with the question of the century.
“Do you think Batman is a superhero?”
After consulting Google, Taylor had an in-depth discussion with the young man about whether or not Riggle’s favorite, Batman, was a superhero, and then posed this question to those gathered.
“The real question is, was Aiden Riggle a superhero? I think everyone here knows the answer to that,” Taylor said. “Aiden was not a good kid, he was a great kid.”
