Barbara "Bobbie" Higginbotham

Barbara (Bobbie) Christine Higginbotham of Raleigh, NC, died December 12, 2011, at home. She was seventy-eight years old. Barbara was born on January 16, 1933, in Kenansville, NC and grew up in Jacksonville/Camp Lejeune. She was the only child of the late Glenn and Bessie Summerlin of Jacksonville, NC.

In 1958 she married Major Charles William Higginbotham, then a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. They had shared nearly fifty-three years of marriage when she died.

In addition to being a homemaker, she worked in the medical field and as a real estate broker. Wherever she lived she was active in her community and her church. She had a strong belief in protecting and nurturing our environment and had a great passion for gardening. Bobbie was a past president of garden clubs in Washington, DC, Woodbridge, VA, Jacksonville, NC, and Cary, NC. Even when she lived in an apartment, her unit was readily distinguishable from the others because of the profusion of plants outside. Bobbie also served as Regent of the Joseph Montford Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was a past chairman of the Jacksonville (NC) Beautification Commission. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Cary.

Bobbie was a devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. She had the delight of seeing three grandchildren, Angela, Thad, and Bethany, grow up and had the joy of welcoming two great-grandchildren, Lars and Kason, into the world. She was never at a loss for words and always enjoyed meeting new people. Bobbie loved spoiling her pets, most recently her beloved cat, Varina, and her cairn terrier, Merritt. Never afraid to try new things, she enjoyed surfing the Internet in her last years.

Left to cherish her memory and to mourn her passing are her husband and best friend, Charles William Higginbotham, her beloved daughters, Deborah Elizabeth Conklin and Susan Dianne Higginbotham, her son-in-law, Don Coomes, her adored grandchildren, Angela Marie Gjelhaug, Thaddeus Benjamin Coomes, and Bethany Allison Coomes, her cherished great-grandsons, Lars Anders Gjelhaug and Kason Sorley Gjelhaug, and many other relatives and friends.

A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church of Cary at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 14, 2011. The family will receive friends immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Autism Society of North Carolina, 505 Oberlin Rd. Suite 230, Raleigh NC 27605 are encouraged.

Condolences and fond memories may be offered at www.brownwynnecary.com