Anne Nichols Higgins Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Anne Nichols Higgins was born in New York City on March 25, 1939. She died of complications from hip surgery on Sunday, May 15, 2022. She graduated from Cathedral High School in New York at age 16, attended Manhattanville College, and graduated from the University of North Carolina, with honors, Phi Beta Kappa, at age 19. At the tender age of 20, Anne and her new husband, Albert Higgins, moved to New Orleans for his job with LSUNO and Anne became heavily involved with the Civil Rights Movement, where she met lifelong friends. Civil rights would be a passion for the next 50 years. After college, Anne became a short-story writer and published in the New American Review and the Catholic Reporter. After the death of her father, she wrote a wonderful memoir of him, which remains unpublished, mainly because editors are idiots. Later in her career, Anne wrote a novella for pre-teens about living in a small village in upstate New York, and even wrote a children’s book, Zachary, the Dog Who Ate Snow Peas and had a local artist illustrate it for her. She was preceded in death by Al (2016) and their son Sean Higgins, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2001. She is survived by their four daughters: Brigitte Higgins-Havlicek of Johnstown, New York, Jessica Higgins Catlin of Louisville, Colorado, Alexandra Higgins of Mayfield, New York, and Martha Higgins of Alexandria, Virginia. Anne is also survived by ten grandchildren: Nicole, Brittany, Elizabeth, Emily, Rajendra, Sanjay, Wyeth, Piper, Isabelle, and Colemar. Anne hadn’t yet met her new great-grandchildren, August, Maya, and Luca but was thrilled by their births. Anne’s defining and lifelong characteristic was curiosity. She was curious about everything and had a willingness to learn about any given subject -- for the intellectual stimulation of the process, and just because. She instilled that sense of curiosity, which often morphed into singular wonder, in her children and grandchildren. That lifelong love of learning and curiosity is probably her singular greatest achievement. She loved classical music and opera, and was especially fond of the music of Poulenc, Shubert, and Holst. Some of the characteristics of her life included championing the underdog, being a lifelong and tenacious reader, needlepointing, gardening voraciously, political action including conscientiously voting after diligent research of any candidate, not suffering fools gladly, and certainly she did not go quietly into that good night after a long and singular battle with osteo-arthritis. Anne will be lovingly remembered as a loyal and loving mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, and friend. The world is worse without her in it. Arrangements have been entrusted to the A.G. Cole Funeral Home Inc., 215 E. Main Street, Johnstown, NY. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Doctors Without Borders or Heifer International. Condolences to the family may be made online by visiting our website at www.agcolefuneralhome.com.

Anne Nichols Higgins

March 25, 1939 - May 15, 2022