Beloved Barrington resident honored at BHS football game

Crowd dresses up for Christmas in support of the late Melissa Rigamonti

Posted 10/12/26

Friday night, Oct. 9 looked a lot like Dec. 25, at Barrington High School.  

There was a heartfelt reason behind all the Santa hats and Christmas sweaters that filled the bleachers at …

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Beloved Barrington resident honored at BHS football game

Crowd dresses up for Christmas in support of the late Melissa Rigamonti

Posted

Friday night, Oct. 9 looked a lot like Dec. 25, at Barrington High School. 

There was a heartfelt reason behind all the Santa hats and Christmas sweaters that filled the bleachers at Victory Field on Friday night — the school community was showing its support for the Rigamonti family. 

Melissa Rigamonti passed away on Thursday, Sept. 10. She was the mother of recent BHS graduate Ryan Rigamonti and current Barrington High School students Luca and Tessa. Melissa was just 48 years old. 

The BHS community rallied around the Rigamonti family on Friday after the BHS cheer section, the Bird Cage, shared an Instagram post: “The game this Friday is in dedication to Melissa Rigamonti. Wear your best Christmas apparel in support of what she loved most.”

Many students and staff went one step further and wore the Christmas themed clothes throughout the day. 

When game-time arrived, Luca and Tessa walked to the center of Victory Field and shared a heartfelt message with the crowd. 

Shortly after Melissa passed away, friends and neighbors to the Rigamonti family also showed their support by putting up Christmas lights and decorations in their yards. Melissa’s husband Christian said his wife loved Christmas and decorating for the holiday. 

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.