Leonard H Higgins' Obituary
Leonard Harvey Higgins, Sr., father, journalist, and community leader, and a nearly lifelong resident of Tacoma, WA., passed away on March 21, 2006, in Seaside, OR.Born in Tacoma on the 9th of July, 1909, Leonard grew up in the newspaper business. His father, Harry F. Higgins was the editor of the Tacoma Ledger during the first part of the last century. He graduated from Stadium High School in 1929 and embarked on a long and meaningful career in journalism and broadcasting. Leonard spent many years with the Tacoma News Tribune, first in print, then in broadcasting as the Tribune Publishing Company expanded to the new medium of radio and later television. Starting as a newsboy for the Tacoma Ledger, Leonard later worked in the Circulation Department and as the Drama Editor. He was a radio newscaster for The News Tribune over KVI in the early days of radio. Following his return from World War II, he held several executive and talent positions with KTNT AM-FM and Television, where he was the first General Manager of each, as well as News Director, News Anchor and Public Affairs Director in a career spanning more than 50 years.During WWII, he served his country in the South Pacific in the Adjutant Generals Corps, entering the military prior to the war as a private and retiring 20 years later as a Lt. Colonel.Leonard always looked to civic duty along with his professional duties. He served on many committees, including the United Way Fund, Tacoma General Hospital, and the Tacoma School District. He was the Vice President of Mt. Rainier Council for Boy Scouts. Professionally, he was President of the Washington State Association of Broadcasters (1956-58), a charter member and past President of Tacoma Sales and Marketing Executives (1956-57), president of Rotary Club #8 of Tacoma (1968-69), and a member of the Broadcast Pioneers and the Association of Film and Television-Radios Artists. Leonard also was a life member of Narrows Bridge Post #10018 Veterans of Foreign Wars.Leonard was preceded in death by his beloved wife of nearly 40 years, Hazel Higgins.He is survived by a son, Leonard Jr., and daughter, Diane Higgins-Shaffer, both of Seaside, OR., and three grandchildren: Thomas Shaffer of Seaside, OR, Shaun Higgins and Lynsey Higgins of Tacoma, WA., and by many nieces and nephews. He will be remembered by family and friends as a loving husband and father, an avid fisherman in his early years, golf enthusiast in his later years, and a principled newsman during his career; as well as for his sense of humor and gift of Irish blarney.Visitation is from 3:00 Â- 9:00 PM, March 27, 2006 at Mountain View Funeral Home. Memorial services will be held at 1:00 PM March 28, 2006 in the Garden Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family requests remembrances are made to the Tacoma Rotary Foundation, cancer research, the Calvary Episcopal Church, Seaside, OR, or a charity of choice.DadÂ's funeral: order of prayers and services: March 28, 2006I. At the time of visitation:Pg. 465 - 466 Prayers for a VigilII. At the closing of the casket (12:15 p.m.)Pg. 465 A Commendatory PrayerDiane: Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Leonard. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. AmenIII. Graveside Â- Liberty Bell Court (12:30 p.m.)Pg. 466 - 467 Reception of the BodyDiane: With faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the body of our brother Leonard for burial. Let us pray with confidence to God, the Giver of life, that He will raise him to perfection in the company of the saints.Pg. 499 - 503 The Committal. Diane: Everyone the Father gives to me will come to me; I will never turn away anyone who believes in me.Lynsey: He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give new life to our mortal bodies through his indwelling Spirit.Diane: My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also shall rest in hope.Lynsey: You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.Diane: In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother Leonard, and we commit his body to its resting place, (WITH EARTH IN HAND Â- LEN AND DIANE) earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. (WITH OUR HANDS ON THE CASKET) The Lord bless him and keep him, the Lord make His face to shine upon him and be gracious to him, the Lord life up His countenance upon him and give him peace. Amen.Diane: Our father loved the ApostlesÂ' Creed. Please listen prayerfully as LEN recites these words of assurance of eternal life and proclamation of his and our faith.The ApostlesÂ' Creed --- pg. 496Prayers of the PeopleDiane: For our brother Leonard, let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ who said, Â"I am Resurrection and I am Life.Â"Lord, you consoled Martha and Mary in their distress; draw near to us who mourn for Leonard, and dry the tears of those who weep.You wept at the grave of Lazarus, your friend; comfort us in our sorrow.You raised the dead to life; give to our brother eternal life.You promised paradise to the thief who repented; bring our brother to the joys of heaven.Our brother was washed in Baptism and anointed with the Holy Spirit; give him fellowship with all your saints.He was nourished with Your Body and Blood; grant him a place at the table in your heavenly kingdom.Comfort us in our sorrows at the death of our brother; let our faith be our consolation, and eternal life our hope.All this we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. AmenDiane: Please join me in the LordÂ's Prayer.All: Our Father Â...Â...Â...Â...Â...Â...Â.....Diane: Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord; And let light perpetual shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the departed, Through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. Merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Resurrection and the Life: Raise us, we humbly pray, from the death of sin to the life of righteousness; that when we depart this life we may rest in Him, and at the resurrection receive that blessing which Your well-beloved Son shall then pronounce: Â"Come, you blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.Â" Grant this, O merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer. Amen Let us also pray for all who mourn, that they may cast their care on God, and know the consolation of His love.Almighty God, look with pity upon the sorrows of your servants for whom we pray. Remember them, Lord, in mercy; nourish them with patience; comfort them with a sense of your goodness; lift up your countenance upon them; and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The God of peace, who brought again from the dead out Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant: Make us perfect in every good work to do His will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight; through Jesus Christ, to who be glory for ever and ever. AmenIV. Memorial Service Â- Garden Chapel1. Opening anthem -- pgs. 491-492Diane: Please stand for the opening anthem and prayer I am the Resurrection and the I am Life, says the Lord. Whoever has faith in Me shall have life, even though he die. And everyone who has life, and has committed himself to Me in faith, shall not die for ever. As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives and that at the last He will stand upon the earth, After my awaking, He will raise me up; and in my body I shall see God. I myself shall see, and my eyes behold Him who is my friend and not a stranger.2. Â"Let us pray Â" pg. 493Diane: O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother Leonard. We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth, until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen3. Old Testament reading Â- Lamentations 3:22-26 -- Kathy A reading from the book of Lamentations Because of the LordÂ's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.I say to myself, Â"The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.Â"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him;it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.Here ends the reading4. New Testament -- II Corinthians 4: 16 Â- 18 Â- JoanieA reading from the book of II CorinthiansTherefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen it temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.Here ends the reading5. The Gospel Â- John 6: 43 Â- 47 -- LynseyA reading from the gospel according to JohnÂ"Stop grumbling among yourselves,Â" Jesus answered. Â"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets:  They will all be taught by God.Â' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.Â"Here ends the reading6. Eulogy (testimonials) - - Len7. Homily Â- Diane8.. Prayer Â- pg. 498Diane: Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to You our brother Leonard, who was reborn by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. Grant that his death may recall to us your victory over death, and be an occasion for us to renew our trust in Your FatherÂ's love. Give us, we pray, the faith to follow where you have led the way; and where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. Amen9. Military honors -- outside 10. Closing -- pg. 500Diane: Let us go forth in peace remembering: Christ will open the kingdom of heaven to all who believe in His Name, saying, Come, O blessed of My Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you.Memorial Service Homily for Leonard Higgins, Sr.Here we are, gathering together again at Mt. View and in the Garden Chapel. Services for my mother and several family members come to mind. There is a comfort here in these familiar surroundings.Psalm 90:10 tells us that Â... Â"The length of our days is seventy years --- or eighty, if we have the strength; Â...Â" Well, Dad had that and more. He lived to be 96 years and 8 months. He didnÂ't quite make his goal of 100, which was set before the effects of dementia began to take his memories and independent living. But even these last years held good times and ultimately bore testimony to the mercy and grace of God.To my surprise, my father had selected a Bible verse to be included in his memorial service. That verse is John 6:47, the last verse of the gospel read today. Jesus says Â"I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.Â" Wow, that is it in a nutshell, isnÂ't it? And Dad believed; from the time he was a child, through war, the vagaries of life, the declining health of my mother and her early passing, all the way through losing his independence and mental acuity. Len has shared many wonderful things about DadÂ's life. I want to share the testimony of his later years, when God used him to facilitate healing and recovery in our family. Dad had his first stroke when he was 86. In the following years he had several health crises where he could have died. Yet each time, he pulled back from the brink. As he was recovering from one of these, in his early nineties, he said an interesting thing to me as I visited him in the hospital. Â"Diane,Â" he said, looking perplexed and a little distressed, Â"I donÂ't know why Jesus wants me to do this. It is so much.Â" He was quiet for a moment, and then added, now with a smile, Â"He knows whatÂ's best. IÂ'll do the best I can.Â" He did not explain what Â"itÂ" was and I wondered what he could think that he had to do in his advanced years. Now I believe that I know what God asked him to do. God directed him to stay in this world and live Â- with the burden of declining health, the effects of dementia and loss of dignity Â- until the fracture of our family could be put on the path of healing and wholeness. Dad lived to be reunited with his son, establish a new bond of love, allow for redemption as Len became his primary caregiver, and, on Thanksgiving of last year, sit at the dining table with his son, his daughter, and all of his grandchildren. Even in my best efforts of prayer and faith, I had not dared to hope for so much. In recent years, on a personal level, I have come to really understand and honestly accept that I am not in control; that all my efforts at managing, organizing, or manipulating my life or that of others will not do what simply walking by faith in GodÂ's grace can do. I believe that my father knew this even better than I in his last years, as he waited and lived in the task he was given to do.Our culture, both secular and sometimes religious, tell us that a successful life avoids problems or inconvenience, achieves financial security, doesnÂ't risk too much in any area and above all, gives the appearance of being in control. But life is messy. People and relationships are messy. All of us sometimes make bad choices or do things that donÂ't make any sense to those who love us. All of us miss the mark because we are working hard to keep up the appearance of being in control and successful. We miss that mark because we are not paying attention to GodÂ's efforts to show us His grace and His mercy. We do not look to God for direction for the walk that fulfills His purpose for each individual life.But God offers do-overs, or least opportunities to pay attention to Him and see that path He has Â"made straightÂ" for us. Scripture speaks to this over and over. The Psalms are songs of praise to GodÂ's mercy and grace. JesusÂ' death and resurrection, which we prepare for during this special season of Lent, are the ultimate demonstration of GodÂ's love and mercy.So this is what I want to share, actually to give testimony to: God is merciful and His grace is beyond our visions and hopes. He is continually giving us opportunities to see His mercy in action and choose to walk in His grace. When we believe, we have life everlasting and life everlasting begins now; here in our present lives. Does this mean that everything gets fixed up, neat and clean and easy? Nope. DonÂ't believe the TV ad; there is no EASY button in this part of life. What it means is that by believing and walking in faith, we can trust that God is in control and that His mercy and grace are ever present. In truth, as it is written in Romans 8:28 Â"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.Â" I close with another example of GodÂ's grace, both to my father and to me.Sometime in the early hours of March 2, my father suffered a serious stroke and went into a coma. As we stood by his bed in the hospital, assuming that this would be the end of his life, an eyelid opened and then the other. He could not speak or move his arms or legs. By that evening, he could move his right arm and leg and the left side was beginning to respond. Speech was starting to return. Was he going to return from the brink yet another time?My friend Kathy, loved by my father as his second daughter, had called on my cell and was saying that she would be praying for angels to surround him that night. I told her that it felt as if they were already there, that there was a special warmth and happiness in his room. A bit later, as I sat by his bed, he began to point and reach with his right hand. I assumed it was random movement until I looked at his face. His smile was beatific and his face nearly glowed. He continued to point at various places above his bed, speaking softly to himself. Finally, I asked him, Â"Dad, what do you see?Â" (Come on now, who wouldnÂ't want a sneak peek at Heaven.) Slowly he turned to me and with a twinkle in his eye, he said, Â"I canÂ't tell you. ItÂ's a secret.Â" Put in my place, I sat quietly Â... waiting.All of a sudden, he turned toward me, looking in my direction. With the love of 40 years in his voice, he said, Â"I have missed you so much.Â" I knew that he had seen my mother.In awhile he dozed off, as I sat holding his hand. He opened his eyes when I moved my hand to leave. He looked around and then his faced crumpled with confusion and sadness. I thought that he might cry. I think that he was disappointed to still be here, so I hugged him and told him that everything was OK. Finally he smiled and asked for a kiss as I was leaving. Once again he had accepted GodÂ's plan.When I got home I told Len about what had happened and said that dad might just go that night; and if not that night, for sure the next opportunity. The God of great mercy had given me even more reassurance of life everlasting as I witnessed DadÂ's look ahead. So, you may ask, what was the point of the additional 2 ½ weeks before he really stepped across? I think it was another grace for Len and me. Most special was the opportunity for the three of us to be together all the way to the end; to walk with Death and see it for the friend it is in the holy death of a saint. And I expect it was also a time of Â"equippingÂ" for us for the long term, in whatever tasks or service God has for Len and me.While there is a normal sadness when a loved one is no longer with us, we truly can rejoice in the knowledge of DadÂ's presence with the Lord and whole company of heaven. And more importantly, we can rejoice that the mercy and grace shown to Dad and our family continues for all of us. It goes with Â"everlasting life.Â"Amen.
What’s your fondest memory of Leonard?
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Share a story where Leonard's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Leonard you’ll never forget.
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