Born in St. David, Arizona in 1903 and nurtured in Mesa and Tempe, L. Alton “Pat” Riggs, Senior, graduated from Mesa High School and attended Arizona State Teachers College, now known as Arizona State University, and received a teaching certificate. He taught seven years at Franklin School in Mesa. He attended law school at the University of Arizona and earned the law degree in 1938. Riggs was elected as a Democrat to the State Legislature in 1930, 1932, 1934, and in 1960. He served four years as an Army Lieutenant Colonel in Europe during World War II. From 1955 to 1959, Riggs was a special assistant to the Arizona Attorney General, and twice a Deputy Maricopa County Attorney. L. Alton Riggs, Senior, was Commander of the William Bloys, American Legion Post in Tempe. He served on the Tempe City Council in 1950 to 1954; and from 1956 to 1960, a period of 8 years. He also served as the President of the Tempe School Board. L. Alton “Pat” Riggs, Senior, was a practicing attorney in Tempe from 1946 to 1976 . His daughter, Patricia Riggs, recalls that “He was a personal friend of Governor Moeur, visited the Moeur home in Tempe often, and the Governor delivered my two brothers as a favor to my father. There are so many more awards and achievements that my father earned in Tempe, and stories to be told, that I could not possibly name and relate them all. He always loved the City and worked for Tempe’s growth and improvement.”