James Michael (“Mike”) Rigsbee

Raleigh - James Michael Rigsbee, born on December 6, 1947 in Durham, North Carolina, passed away on January 8, 2015 in his home surrounded by his loved ones.  He was the son of the late J.D. Rigsbee and the late Nancy Rigsbee. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Donna Wilson Rigsbee; daughter, Christina Atwood and her husband Dennis Atwood, and daughter, Karen Strength and her husband Mark Strength; four grandsons, Cody Gorman and Nikolas Atwood of Champaign, IL and Alex and Vaughn Strength of St. Louis, MO; and brothers John and Charles Rigsbee. Mike attended Southern High School in Durham, NC. He graduated from NCSU in 1974 with a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering.  Mike completed a Post Doctorate at Michigan Tech, Houghton, MI, worked for Republic Steel in Cleveland, OH, taught at University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, IL, was Department Head at UAB in Birmingham, AL and came back to NCSU in 1998 as Department Head and Professor of Material Science and Engineering. A memorial service will be held in his honor at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, 831 Wake Forest Rd in Raleigh, on Monday, January 12, at 4:00 pm, with a visitation following.  You are invited to wear red in his honor to commemorate his love and support for NC State.  Go Wolfpack! In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Transitions LifeCare Hospice at 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607, www.transitionslifecare.org, or the American Cancer Society, donate.cancer.org.