Helen Marie Higgins

Helen Marie (Wilson) Higgins

Our beloved mother, Helen Marie (Wilson) Higgins, 93, of Crozet, Virginia, died peacefully on Saturday, December 12, 2009, at Envoy of Staunton.

She was born on May 13, 1916, in Omaha, Nebraska, to the late Frederick Harry Wilson and Laura Belle James.

Helen married John Charles Higgins on May 13, 1944, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and then moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where they lived until 1996, when they moved to Crozet, Virginia.

Helen was always on the move, she could never sit still. She worked as an Aviation Mechanic during the war; for the United States Navy as a civil service employee from 1967 until her retirement due to disability in 1978; was a real estate agent with Gifford Realty in Norfolk, Virginia; and volunteered as a Family Budget Advisor with Navy Family Services Center, where she assisted young families to manage their obligations. Helen was an avid artist and was active in the Charlottesville Senior Center. She was also a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Norfolk, Virginia.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, John Charles "Red" Higgins; and her son, James S. Higgins.

She is survived by her son, Franklin Lefavor and his wife, Glenda, and children, Michael and Kathy and families; her daughter, Claudette Lefavor Donat and her husband, Peter, and children, Ronald, Mark and Michele and families; her son, John M. Higgins and children, Sterling and John; daughter, Jo Higgins Payne and her husband, Michael; her son, James' wife, Maryanne, and children, Stuart and Christopher. She was previously married to Franklin Lefavor.

Memorial contributions may be made in her name to Hospice of the Piedmont, 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300, Charlottesville, VA 22911. Sincere gratitude to their nurses for their warm thoughtful care.

The family will receive friends at 9 a.m. with a funeral mass at 10 a.m. Saturday, December 19, 2009, at Holy Comforter Catholic Church, 208 East Jefferson Street, Charlottesville, Virginia. Interment immediately following at Monticello Memory Gardens and a reception following at Greencroft Club, 575 Rodes Drive; Charlottesville, VA 22903.

Friends may sign the guest register at teaguefuneralhome.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.