Christine Briggs
Christine Claire Briggs, age 74, passed away on Saturday, July 5 at Rocky Knoll Health Care Facility in Plymouth, WI where she had been a resident for the last week.
Born on January 1, 1951, she was the second child to Ralph and Betty Capelle. She was also the first child born in Sheboygan County that year.
Christine graduated from Plymouth High School in 1969 and was the class valedictorian, an early sign of her lifelong love of learning and travel. She attended Valparaiso University in Indiana, and while there, spent a year abroad attending Cambridge University in England.
After completing college, she returned home, where she met and married Michael Briggs on September 6, 1981 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin.
Christine spent her career working at Sargento Cheese in Plymouth, Wisconsin for 41 years. She held various positions in the company until she retired as a microbiologist in 2016. She was well known by the staff and management in her years of employment.
Trying to sum up Christine’s interests and accomplishments is an intimidating task as anyone who has known her will attest. An admittedly incomplete list however, has been attempted.
She was an avid reader and her home was always filled with novels, travel guides, magazines, cook books, and newspapers which she read voraciously. She never stopped being a student, taking classes and gaining certifications both professionally and in pursuit of her own interests.
Christine loved traveling the globe, and had visited over 40 countries in her lifetime. Her goal as a traveler was not to merely take a cruise or go to a tourist hotspot. Every trip that she and Mike would take would begin with her researching the history, food and language of a place. Her volumes of travel photos, carefully curated, showed her love for not just going to a place, but truly trying to experience it. She didn’t want to just drink wine from a place, she wanted to go to where it was made, meet the owners, learn the language and about the history of the land.
She loved the fellowship of her community and belonged to several organizations such as the French Club, Knitting Club, and Garden Club, which she had attained the title of Master Gardener. Christine was a lover of Public Television, and her frequent contributions to it probably single-handedly funded many of the British murder-mysteries that she and Mike would watch nightly. She was an excellent chef and loved hosting family gatherings. Her neighbors loved the amazing food she would prepare for the annual “Taste of South Hills” and could be found most summer evenings relaxing on her back porch, feeling perfectly at home, enjoying her hospitality, wit, and humor.
To visit her home was to see a reflection of her. Her walls were adorned with items she had collected from abroad, winning photo contest entries, framed needlework, and pictures of family. There were books and knitting projects she was working on in every room. She showed much of her affection in the thoughtfulness of the gifts she gave, and the time and effort she spent on the people and things she loved. The meticulously maintained gardens around her home were proof of this, and the back deck of her home, overlooking a forest and full of flowers, continues to be a place of joy and refuge for family and friends.
She is survived by husband Michael Briggs and children, Lee (Vishmaa) Briggs, Madison, WI; Ann Briggs, Plymouth, WI; Steve (Jayne) Briggs, Charlotte, NC; and her grandchildren Govinda, Nora, and Chloe. As a mother, Christine was loving and patient. Despite the challenges of Ann’s disability, Christine and Mike raised their children as a team and challenged them to be their best. Through effort and example, they made sure no member of the family ever missed out on what life had to offer. Later in life she was always knitting sweaters for grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, and at least one family dog.
Christine is survived by her five siblings: Kathy (Mike) Schneider, Greenbush, WI; Carol (Jeff) Mills, Mosinee, WI; Fred Capelle, Plymouth WI; Linda Ribar, Madison, WI; and David Capelle, Plymouth, WI. Nieces and nephews: Megan (Chad) Hansen, Plymouth, WI; Courtney (Ben) Reich, Eau Claire, WI ; Alex (Mark) Laverty, Minneapolis, MN; Tony (Kari) Capelle, Cascade, WI; Amy (Matt) Miles, Plymouth, WI; Kaitlyn Ribar, Colorado Springs, CO; Kristen (Josh) Ribar-Jimenez, Miami, FL; Nicholas Capelle, Boone, NC; and Jessika Capelle, Chapel Hill, NC.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, July 12 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Plymouth, WI from 12:00PM-2:00PM; with a Funeral Service to follow at 2:00 PM. Rev. John Schultz will officiate.
The family has requested in lieu of flowers that donations be made to Camp Evergreen (https://campevergreensheboygan.org/donate/) which provided so much support to their daughter Ann and countless other families. Cards or letters to the family may be sent to Suchon Funeral Home, PO Box 535, Plymouth, WI, 53073.