Lucille May Higgins Pirie

DURHAM - Lucille May Higgins Pirie, of Durham, New Hampshire, died quietly on Saturday, November 4, 2017 after a brief period of declining health. She was born in Andover, Massachusetts, on July 8, 1931, the youngest daughter of William and Anne Higgins. She grew up in Manchester and Middletown Connecticut where her mother was a homemaker and her father taught high school English and Math.

In addition to being a devoted wife, supportive mother and proud gramma, Lue was an avid reader, pie maker (blueberry and strawberry rhubarb especially) bird watcher and flower gardener. She was politically active and loved going to the Portland Symphony and UNH hockey games. She was a high school majorette and, a college cheerleader and a graduate of Bates College where, on a blind date in 1949, she met the love of her life Jim Pirie.

She took on the role of a minister's wife with grace while raising her three children. Later Lue worked at numerous positions within the social services. Always a champion for those in need, her employment included working with special needs children in Sharon and Maynard, Massachusetts, a state fuel assistance program, and a technology training program for teachers in Framingham, Massachusetts. Additionally, she worked at The Multi-Cultural Institute for Change at Regis College, and volunteered for various church committees and projects in her retirement.

She is predeceased by her parents; her brother Donald and wife Kate Higgins of Arlington, Ohio, and her sister Barbara DeFronzo of Columbia, Md. She is survived by her loving husband of 64 years, James Pirie of Durham, N.H.; her daughter Lisabeth Pirie of Leominster, Mass., and her daughter Korinna Hudson of Ayer, Mass.; her son Christopher and wife Kathleen Pirie, and their children Ethan and Graham Pirie and Thomas and Michael Ippolito, all of Portsmouth, N.H.; her daughter Sandra Pirie-St.Amour and her husband Timothy St.Amour and their children Madison and Griffin all of Marlboro, Mass.; her brother-in-law Rocco DeFronzo of Columbia, Md.; her nephews Bruce and William Higgins of Arlington, Ohio and niece Millicent Higgins Smith of Huber Heights, Ohio; her sister-in-law Ellen Robbins of Barre, Vt., and many nieces and nephews on the Pirie side of the family.

SERVICES: A service of remembrance is planned for a future date to be determined by the family. In lieu of flowers, and in keeping with Lue's kind heart and generous spirit, the family asks that a donation be made to her favorite charity, Habitat For Humanity. To sign our online guestbook, please go to www.purdyfuneralservice.com.