Thomas Higgins

Thomas Waterman Higgins
April 2, 1934 - February 28, 2026
Thomas Waterman Higgins, father of four and grandfather of thirteen, passed away on February 28, 2026, at the age of 91.

Mr. Higgins was born on April 2, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest son of Tracy Higgins (1901-1981) and Madelyn King Waterman Higgins (1907-1967). He grew up at 35 Prospect Park West in Park Slope and also spent part of his childhood in Smithtown and Huntington on Long Island, where the Higgins family owned property and where many of his early memories were formed. He grew up alongside his brothers Charles Michael Higgins II (1928-2006) and Tracy Higgins Jr. (1932-2021).

The Higgins family had deep roots in Brooklyn. His grandfather, Charles Michael Higgins (1854-1929), was the founder of the Charles M. Higgins Company, manufacturer of the well-known Higgins American India Ink used by artists, architects, and draftsmen across the country. Beginning his experiments behind the family home at 101 Prospect Park West, Charles Higgins built the company into a nationally recognized enterprise while remaining active in Brooklyn civic life and historical preservation.

Thomas's father, Tracy Higgins, a graduate of Dartmouth College, later served as president of the Higgins Ink company. Though the circumstances of Thomas's own life would follow a more complicated path than the generations that came before him, he carried throughout his life a strong awareness of family history and pride in the Higgins name.

After his parents separated during his youth, he spent part of his adolescence in California, where he graduated from Menlo School and attended Menlo Junior College, studying political science.
In the mid-1950s he served in the United States Air Force, which took him to Europe. He often spoke fondly of that period of his life, particularly his experiences in Germany, whose culture, music, and food left a lasting impression on him.

Mr. Higgins began his working life at Citibank, where he started as a bill collector. Although he later left the bank, he continued working for many years afterward in similar roles, maintaining a steady and humble work ethic throughout his life.
He later married Linda Armento, with whom he had four sons: Thomas, Timothy, Todd, and Matthew.
He was a lifelong sports fan and especially loved baseball, following the Brooklyn Dodgers, later the Los Angeles Dodgers, and eventually the New York Mets.

In later years he took particular pride in his growing family and enjoyed encouraging his grandchildren in their ambitions and studies. By the end of his life he was the grandfather of thirteen grandchildren.

The Higgins family story in Brooklyn spans more than a century, from an Irish immigrant inventor who built a celebrated American company to the generations that followed in very different circumstances. Thomas Higgins remained throughout his life conscious of that history and of the family name that connected those generations.

Thomas Higgins will be laid to rest in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, at the Higgins family mausoleum on Battle Hill. Standing beside the mausoleum is the statue of Minerva, the "Altar to Liberty," commissioned by his grandfather Charles M. Higgins more than a century ago. From its vantage point overlooking New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty, the monument remains one of Green-Wood's most recognizable landmarks. With his burial there, Thomas Higgins returns to the place that has marked the story of the Higgins family in Brooklyn for generations.