Samuel Griffith Higgins Sr.

Samuel G. Higgins Sr. ORANGE PARK - Samuel Griffith Higgins Sr., 83, passed away Saturday, May 26, 2007, in Orange Park, Florida. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. EDT Friday, June 1, 2007, at Centenary United Methodist Church, Quincy, Florida. The Reverends Glenn Bosley-Mitchell, John Whitehead, and Pat Turner-Sharpton will officiate. A private burial is planned. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Friends of the Library of Gadsden County, Quincy, Florida; the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, Live Oak, Florida; or any charity of one's choice. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 13, 1923, the son of John Patrick and Katie Belle Griffith Higgins. Sam lived in Pensacola before moving to Mobile, Albama, where he graduated from high school. Promptly he went on to serve his country in World War II. He was captured with his Army unit during the Battle of the Bulge and survived the rigors of being a POW in Stalag 9B. Attending college after the war, at the University of Alabama, Sam received the degrees Bachelor of Laws, Juris Doctor and an MBA in labor economics. He met and married Margaret French Banks. Sam worked for 17 years for E.I. DuPont, Textile Fibers Department (Wilmington, Delaware) while living in Unionville, Pennsylvania. A second career was begun when Sam assisted in the start-up of a new junior college in Wilmington, at Brandywine College, where he was an assistant professor. In 1972, he received a M.Ed. in Media Communications from West Chester State College and moved to Camden, South Carolina. From 1972-1976, Sam was Director of Educational Technology and Curriculum, South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education. From 1977-1979, he worked for Draper Textile Division of Rockwell International. Sam moved to Tallahassee, Florida, reuniting with his younger brother, Frank (wife Clarice), both of whom introduced Sam to his current wife, Bernice Snelbaker Turner, whom he married in 1980. From 1981-1991, Sam was employed by the Department of Education, Tallahassee, Florida, first in the Bureau of Curriculum Research and Dissemination, and from 1983 until retirement, in the Division of Vocational Education. Sam also received his Ph.D. (1982) from Florida State University in Educational Administration. Over the years, Sam was an adjunct professor for the University of Delaware, Pepperdine University, Golden Gate University, Clemson University, Tallahassee Community College, and Nova University. He was also a substitute teacher in the Gadsden County public schools and a part-time instructor in their Adult Education section. During Sam's retirement, he became interested in writing, eventually deciding to write about his experiences as a POW. Sam published a book about those experiences, "Survival: Diary of an American POW in World War II" in 1992, and he and Bernice often traveled to many of the POW conventions, 70th Army Division (the Trailblazers). He was active with the Lafayette Writers Group in Tallahassee, the Centenary United Methodist Church, and the Gadsden County public library. Sam is survived by his wife, Bernice Turner Higgins of Orange Park, Florida, formerly of Quincy, Florida; daughter Virginia Davis (and Chip) of Norfolk, Va.; daughter Katherine Higgins Bielsky of Charleston, S.C.; son Samuel Griffith Higgins, Jr. (and Linda) of Camden, S.C.; daughter Marian (and Pat) Turner-Sharpton of St. Augustine, Fla.; son Charles Turner of Orange Park, Fla.; son George Turner (and Betsy) of Land O' Lakes, Fla.; grandchildren Lisa, Sam, and Jamie Reamy and Moshe, Simcha, and Malka Bielsky, Jonathan Higgins and Justin Turner; five great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren; his sister-in-law, Clarice Higgins; nephews Michael and Timothy Higgins; and niece Katie Belle Wolfe. Sam was preceded in death by his older brother, Charles, and by his beloved younger brother, Frank, and nephew, Patrick Higgins.