Stanley Higdon
Born: May 30th, 1931
Died: April 12th, 2018
Obituary
Stanley (Stan) Higdon, 86, passed away April 12, 2018 at the Great River Hospice House in Burlington.
Born May 30, 1931 in Waterloo, Iowa, he was the son of Otis Paul Higdon and Nora Pauline Higdon. On October 14, 1961 he married Marianne Joyce Meyer at Zion Lutheran Church in Castalia, Iowa. In 1970, he and his family moved to Burlington.
Stan was an Air Force veteran during the Korean conflict, serving at various AF bases in the United States and also at Wheelus AFB in Tripoli, Libya. He was a radio operator in the security service.
Stan graduated from East Waterloo High School and earned his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Northern Iowa. He also earned an Education Specialist degree from Western Illinois University where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He was a life-long educator, having taught in Tripoli, IA, Milwaukee, and Waterloo where he also served as an elementary principal. In 1970, Stan began his tenure in the Burlington School System as an Assistant Principal at James Madison Middle School. He later taught math and social studies at James Madison until his retirement in 1993.
He made many friends through his membership at the YMCA where he had coffee and enjoyed his chats at the front desk. When he was 63, he trained for and ran a marathon in Kansas City. Stan loved being with his family; he was very proud of them. His friends were very important to him also. He had, by his admission, a happy and rewarding life.
Stan was loved dearly by his family and will be greatly missed. Survivors include his wife, Marianne; his son Paul Higdon of Florissant, MO; daughter Jane and her husband Jeff Kopiwoda of Kenilworth, IL along with two grandsons, Nicholas and Christopher. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Jean Meyer of Lansing, IA, several nieces, nephews, cousins and two "brothers" Neil Perry of McGregor, IA and Ray Robinson of Burlington. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother Dale Higdon and sister Annette Rath.
A true celebration of Stan's life will be held on Saturday, April 28 at Prugh~Thielen Funeral Home from noon until 2:00 PM with military rites at 2:00 PM.
Memorials have been established for the YMCA and the Great River Hospice House.