Eloise Higgins

ELOISE FOWLER HIGGINS
March 2, 1931 - December 21, 2020

Eloise Fowler Higgins was born on March 2, 1931, in Riverside, California. She died December 21, 2020 in Bakersfield California from COVID-19.

As a young child Eloise and her family moved from Riverside to Glendale where they lived until 1947 when her father's work took them to Birmingham, Michigan, where Eloise finished her last two years of high school, graduating as the salutatorian. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University until transferring to USC, graduating in Occupational Therapy (OT), interning at Stanford Veterans, City of Hope and Harbor General, focusing on sick and handicapped children and becoming a licensed OT.

While at USC, Eloise was an active in the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and continued this association throughout her life. She enjoyed student life at USC with her two cousins who introduced her to their fraternity brother Bob Higgins. A lovely romance developed and they married in 1953. They began married life in Bakersfield where Eloise worked as an O.T. with handicapped students at McKinley ES.

Bob's career soon had them moving around the state, first to Fullerton in 1954 where her first son Jerry was born, then La Mirada where her second son Jim was born. Then they moved to Ventura, Brea, and finally back to Bakersfield.

After Eloise settled in Bakersfield in 1966, she began her twenty-year career as a Bakersfield College (BC) professor in Early Childhood Development. She applied her passion for early childhood education, O.T. skills and her love of art to develop her creative curriculum for early childhood education. On behalf of BC, she established several children's centers around town and she inspired many of her students to become teachers.

Eloise was also interested in wine and gourmet cooking. She co-taught wine courses at BC and after retiring became the wine buyer for Fike's Finer Foods and a local representative for a wine distributor. She became active in wine education and was a member of Wine Tasters of Kern and the Bakersfield Wine Society. She served on the Board of Directors for the Society of Wine Educators, a national organization.

Eloise loved travel so she and Bob explored the world together, including many European trips that focused on winemaking and culinary arts. She hosted wine tasting events and ever the teacher, showed slides of her trips to Europe to enhance the experience. Eloise took French Cooking classes, loved art and interior decorating, and created a lovely home, perfect for entertaining.

Eloise was an active member of 60+ and Elder College where she organized field trips. She was a member of the Classical Music Appreciation Group and she loved jazz. She volunteered as a docent at the Bakersfield Art and helped with the gift shop. She learned how to use a computer to organize her wine and social activities and emailed friends and family regularly.

Eloise was an elegant lady with an active mind and a zest for life. Her husband, sons, and their families were a foundational part of her life. She will be missed. Eloise was predeceased by her husband of 59 years, Bob Higgins, and her brother Ron Fowler. She is survived by her sons Jerry and Jim, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.