Alva Rigg was the fourth son of Thomas and Miranda Rigg. He was born on January 4, 1877 and was the third of their children to die from Typhoid Fever on September 1, 1895. I try to imagine what it must have been like to be an eighteen year old who also happens to be very ill and has witnessed the death of his oldest brother and a younger brother but I must admit that I truly can't fathom it. Any of you that have gone out to Quito know how quiet and peaceful it is there. But when there were 8 boys and one little girl running and playing and probably working on the farm were there squeals of laughter and shouts of mischievous voices? And what had Alva accomplished in his 18 years... We assume that he attended school and church since the other children did. What would he have become? A lawyer or maybe president? At Alva's death, Grover Cleveland was president of the United States and although his presidential profile states that he was both a lawyer and a politician he had no formal education. Alva was a young man just ready to embark on his journey into adult life. Did he have a girlfriend that he wanted to marry? The truth is we may never know. I hope in my heart that when Alva was clinging to life that he had memories that were glorious and that when the next Spring arrives we who are his descendants can smile a little smile just for him.