'You fell in love with her': Danville graduate, Hanover senior impacted everyone she met

DANVILLE – If a picture is worth a thousand words, the message throughout the Danville High School gymnasium Sunday was resounding. Lexi Riggles’ smile was everywhere.

Posterboards lining the floor in her hometown were filled with pictures of the 2018 Danville graduate. Most of them showed a wide smile. You could almost hear her infectious and memorable laugh through the pictures – “None like I’ve ever heard before,” her Hanover teammate Liz Tynan said.

Riggles made a positive impact on everyone she met.

“If she was around you for one minute, you fell in love with her,” Hanover coach John Jones said during the funeral service. “She's a friend for the rest of your life.”

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The Danville community is grieving the loss of Riggles, who died on Oct. 17. The cause of death has not been made public. Her loss was felt in Hanover, where she was a senior. It was felt throughout the Indiana girls basketball community.

Riggles’ passion for life and for others were a constant theme as those who knew her shared stories.

Kim Hayse remembers when her daughter Olivia started attending Danville in fifth grade. Olivia and Lexi were teammates on the basketball court for six years.

“Lexi was the first girl to befriend her,” Hayse said. “For that, I will be forever grateful.”

Plenty of tears have been shed by friends, family members, coaches and teammates in recent days. But Jon Lilly, the pastor who spoke during the service, implored those in attendance to find joy in their memories of Riggles.

“She would want that laugh of hers to come out in this moment,” Lilly said. “That smile that would brighten any room, she would want to see that today.”

The line in Danville’s gym on Sunday filed past the girls basketball locker room entrance and along a wall that showed several pictures of Riggles celebrating sectional and regional titles with the Warriors. Under the pictures was a motto that embodied her impact: “TEAM: Together, everyone achieves more.”

Riggles was always focused on others.

“Lexi never met a stranger,” Danville girls basketball coach Kaley May said. “She never judged, spoke ill about others or turned anyone away. There was not a single soul that disliked Lexi because she had the biggest heart and always made everyone feel important.”

Riggles would stay late after Hanover to wear out the shooting gun and “master her craft,” Jones remembered. But she would also take time to figure out how to be a better team captain. She helped organize a campfire karaoke night so that she could bond with her teammates during the height of the pandemic.

Tynan, one of Riggles’ teammates at Hanover, remembers Riggles’ dedication on the court. But it didn’t stop there.

“As a friend, she was always there to listen, go on a drive, or simply hang out,” Tynan said. “I will never forget, she had the goofiest laugh ever. It was so contagious and made everyone smile. She was always down for a good time and I will never forget her caring, compassionate self.”

She looked up to her older sister, Ashlyn Sims. And the feeling was mutual.

“I know you hoped to be the mother I am someday, but in reality, I wanted nothing more than to be like you,” Sims said in a letter read by Lilly.

Riggles loved intensely – she loved her friends and her family. She loved basketball and her teammates. She loved shopping for trinkets. She loved animals and music.

For 21 years, Riggles loved life. Everyone she met loved her back. And that love will continue.

“You were always the life of the party, and the most thoughtful person we know,” Riggles’ parents Clint and Jennifer wrote in a letter. “We’re going to try and pick up the pieces and be happy for all the great times we’ve had as a family.

“Until we meet again, sweet princess, we love you always and forever.”

Follow IndyStar trending sports reporter Matthew VanTryon on Twitter @MVanTryon and email him story ideas at matthew.vantryon@indystar.com