Bob Higgins

James Robert "Bob" Higgins passed away at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton, Missouri on Saturday, February 28, 2026. Bob was born in Clinton, Missouri on October 19, 1946 to James Harlen Higgins and Grace Virginia Tribble.

Bob attended a couple one room school houses; Glenwood and Antioch, where he and his sister Judy would ride their Shetland pony to school. Bob eventually went on to attend and graduate from Montrose High School. After school he went on to enlist in the Air Force Reserves. It was here that Bob became an excellent mechanic.

Bob married Claudia Marie Sickman on June 27, 1969. Together they had two children, Casey (Dawn) Higgins and Valerie (Mat) Meeker, all of Deepwater, Missouri.

Bob or "Papa" as his grandchildren would call him, had a variety of business ventures. Most prominently, Bob dairy farmed for 40 years. During that time Bob and Claudia also co-owned Grand Golf 'N Go in Grove, Oklahoma with Claudia's sister and brother-in-law, Bob and Julie Nold. In 2000, Bob opened an LLC with a couple family members and began operating Higgins-Meeker Deepwater Quarry.

Bob was a big part of the Deepwater community. He served on the Lakeland School Board from 1986-1992, the Henry County Soil and Water Board, and the Mid America Dairy Board. The Higgins family was the 1976 Missouri State Fair Farm Family and Bob was the 2005 Conservation Farmer of the Year.

Bob is preceded in death by his parents and brother Dale Higgins.

He is survived by his two children, Casey (Dawn) Higgins and Valerie (Mat) Meeker; five grandchildren, Emily, Corbin, and Addison Meeker and Audrey and Collin Higgins; one great-grandson, Sterling, all of Deepwater, Missouri; his siblings, Gary (Rhonda) Higgins of Clinton, Missouri and Judy (John) Williams of Deepwater, Missouri; as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at the Bradley & Hadley Funeral Home, Clinton. The family will receive friends from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. just prior to the funeral service. Burial will be in the Saint Mary's Cemetery, Montrose, MO. The family suggests memorial contributions to Lakeland FFA or Clinton Christian Academy, and these donations may be left in care of the funeral home.