64735_Josephine Wallace_Higgens
MASON CITY — Josephine Wallace Higgins of Mason City died peacefully Friday morning, July 5, 2013, at Lantern Park Nursing and Rehab Center in Coralville after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Fullerton Funeral Home, 123 Second St. S.E. A parish wake service will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the funeral home chapel.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 11, at Epiphany Parish-St. Joseph Catholic Church, 302 Fifth St. S.E., Mason City, with the Rev. Neil Manternacht officiating.
Inurnment will be held 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 12, at St. Michael’s Cemetery, Whittemore, Iowa. Father Victor Ramaeker will officiate.
Those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider memorials to the Josephine W. Higgins Memorial Fund in care of Hills Bank and Trust, Second Street, Coralville, IA 52241, or to the Iowa City Hospice, 1025 Wade St., Iowa City, IA 52240.
Josephine was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on August 7, 1928, to Robert H. and Barbara (Peggy) Wallace Wilson.
In 1943, she met her future husband, Ray Higgins, who was serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II. They became pen pals and wrote letters back and forth during the time Ray was stationed in Russia and in the North African fronts. They were united in marriage on July 3, 1946, in Chicago and then made their home in Mason City. In 1957 they moved to a farm near Rockford and then in 1962 moved to a farm near Rock Falls.
Josephine worked outside the home at Risto Manufacturing and at A. C. Neilson Co. She enjoyed knitting and reading and challenging her children to do their best. She returned frequently to visit her family in Edinburgh. Ray and Josephine also enjoyed serving as Wagon Master of the WigWam and Wagon Campers and were often Wagon Masters when the club camped at the Wilkinson Pioneer Park in Rock Falls.
Josephine was a lifetime member of St. Joseph Catholic Church until she moved to Coralville in 2005 to be near her daughter. There she attended St. Thomas More Catholic Church.
Josephine is survived by her three children: Bob and his wife, Debbra Higgins of Eagle, Wis., Joanne Higgins, Coralville, and Maureen Higgins, Elkhorn, Wis.; sister-in-law, Arlene Higgins; nieces, Kathy Higgins, Vernon Hills, Ill., Ena Wilson Welsh and Moira Wilson, Edinburgh, Scotland; and nephews, Dennis and Don Higgins, Mason City.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray M. Higgins; her parents, Robert and Barbara Wilson; brother, Robert Wilson; sister-in-law, Margaret Wilson; niece, Barbara Wilson; parents-in-law, Mike and Elizabeth Higgins; brother-in-law, Luke Higgins; and sister-in-law, Ruth Higgins.
The family wishes to express their thanks to Dr. Paul Mulhausen, to Dr. Rick Dobyns, to the staff of Iowa City Hospice and to the staff of Lantern Park Nursing and Rehab Center.