Sheila Ann Higgins

Sheila Ann (Allbritton) Higgins, 79, former teacher and resident of Deer Park, Texas, passed away with family and her closest friend in attendance, on July 14, 2014, at Bayshore Hospital, following a brief illness. Sheila was the youngest of two daughters of the late Benjamin Marvin Allbritton and the late Mabel Edith (Fuller) Allbritton.

Sheila was born in Huntington, Texas, on May 30, 1935. A clerical error caused her birth date to officially be May 31 but the family uses the actual date. Sheila graduated with honors from Commerce High School in 1953. Three years later, Sheila was awarded a BS with honors from East Texas State Teachers College. After teaching American military dependents at the Hanau American School in Germany, Sheila returned to Texas and to school. She received her Masters degree in Education from East Texas State College in 1963, a difficult task considering she also had a 1yr old at home.

Teaching was Sheila's passion. She began her state side teaching career at Pearl Hall Elementary in Pasadena, and spent several years at Lynchburg Elementary, and then W.A. Carpenter Elementary, before finishing her career as a fourth grade teacher at JP Dabbs Elementary in Deer Park. Although she retired from Dabbs in 2000, teaching was in her blood and she delighted at the opportunity to expand young minds. Favorite gifts to her children and grandchild included books, geodes, owl pellets, refracting crystals, puzzles and more books. She could always be counted on to know the answer to any natural science or Texas history question.

Sheila is survived by her daughter, Rebecca D. Allbritton of Austin, Texas, and her daughter R. Ellen Allbritton, MD and beloved grandson Daniel Benjamin Neal of Deer Park, Texas. She is also survived by her sister Nelda Jean Bell of Mesquite, Texas, and five cherished nieces and nephews.

A memorial to celebrate Sheila's life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, 2014, at Grand View Funeral Home, 8501 Spencer Hwy, in Pasadena, Texas. Sheila was an avid supporter of animal welfare, conservation of our national parks, and assistance to those in need. In lieu of flowers, a donation in Sheila's name to The Arbor Day Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The World Wildlife Fund, or Habitat For Humanity would be considered by her family a befitting honor to Sheila.