Captain Richard Lain Higgins

Captain Richard Lain Higgins passed away on September 14, 2024, in Nashville, TN. His life will be celebrated on Saturday, September 21 beginning with a visitation for family and friends at the George A. Smith & Sons Funeral Home South from 11:00am -12:30pm. A procession with police honor guard will continue from there to the Hall & King Cemetery at 930 Steam Mill Ferry Road, Jackson TN where family and friends are invited to offer stories and humor. Following the graveside service, everyone is invited to a Celebration of Life reception at the Idea Factory, 106 S. Liberty Street at 2:00pm. Pall Bearers will include Bob Horwitz, Emmanuel Bonhomme, Andru Heath, Keigan Thornton, Parker Jones, Ben Jones and Jett Jones.

Richard was born May 18, 1942, in Jackson, TN, the son of Albert Boonie Higgins and Annie Helen Futrell Higgins. Three years later his brother Terry Nolan was born and so began Richard’s lifelong efforts to protect all those he loved. He attended Southside High School in Jackson, where he met Linda Carole Jennings. They began dating while working together on their high school annual staff and remained together for six years while he attended Tennessee Tech University, then entered the Marines, later transferring to the Air Force, as he served from 1962 to 1965. Just as the Beatles were invading the United States, Richard and Linda married on February 8, 1964. He then welcomed Linda’s family as his own with in-laws, Malcolm and Billie Jennings as well as Jimmy and Rosalee Gibbons. Soon after he was deployed to Okinawa, Japan. He served as a loadmaster for C130 planes and flew on many treacherous missions over Vietnam. It was while he was in Japan, in late September of 1964, he received a telegram from his wife Linda that Robin Lynn was born. Richard completed his service and returned to meet his daughter in August, 1965. He and Linda became very active in the Madison County Jaycees and Jaycettes. Here they not only volunteered and served the community but made many lifelong friendships. In 1968 Richard and Linda were helping the Jaycees raise money for a local cause at The West Tennessee State Fair. Richard was sure Linda had time to finish counting the fundraising proceeds before second daughter, KaCarole decided to make her entrance into the world and as with most things…he was right and they made it to the hospital, just in time. Richard tried his hand at selling cars at the Chevrolet dealership, yet he felt a calling to do more for his community….to protect and serve as a Jackson Police officer. He joined the force in 1970. This became the place that he could do the most good.

As a patrolman in the early 1970’s, the department was almost, if not exclusively comprised of male police officers. Although Richard enjoyed their company, he said, he “always liked being surrounded by beautiful women.” So he and Linda added Elizabeth “Beth” Anne to their family on August 25, 1971.

Richard proved to be an exceptional officer and was honored by the local Jaycees as most outstanding police officer. He has always enjoyed solving mysteries and finding the missing pieces of a puzzle, so it was no surprise when he was promoted to detective. He would go on to distinguish himself as he and his fellow detectives solved very high-profile cases for the city. He was the youngest officer from the Jackson Police Department ever selected to attend the FBI National Academy. He graduated from this elite training at Quantico, VA in the spring of 1978. Richard rose in the ranks quickly within Jackson’s Central Investigative Division as Sergeant, Lieutenant and finally Captain. He was very proud that in his tenure as Captain, there were no cases left unsolved.

After many years in the investigative division, Richard was transferred to the position of Captain over the Records Division. He had loved his work as an investigator but now there was a need for his leadership in this area. He worked alongside his incredible staff to bring many new innovations to criminal reporting in Jackson. Knowledgeable and innovative staff like Jennifer Knowlton stated, “Richard was a cop’s cop. He believed in doing the right thing, the right way. He was a motivator.”

In 2000 Richard battled non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and faced Cancer again with Waldenstrom Syndrome in 2007. He continued working through all this and won the battle against cancer with the help of doctors at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

When Richard finally retired from the Jackson Police in 2008 after 38 years of service, he became the first City of Jackson retiree that was honored with a key to the city. Many other honors were bestowed on him from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, National Association of Police Chiefs and the FBI National Academy Association.

In retirement, Richard continued running his private investigation business that he had started as a side job while still working full-time. Through this business he worked with many successful corporate entities such as Proctor & Gamble and Murray Guard.

Throughout all this time Richard was continually volunteering and giving back to the Jackson/West Tennessee community. He served on boards for Jackson City Beautiful, The West Tennessee Mental Health Center, City of Jackson Credit Union and the Wo/Mans Rape Assistance Program. He was also a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, Forked Deer River Coon Club, American Legion and he was a Mason.

He loved volunteering at the 4-H Chicken Shack and made sure he learned how to make their coveted bbq sauce for grilling at home. He spent many hours assisting Linda while she worked for the Girl Scouts and he could frequently be seen helping with the Miss Tennessee Pageant and West Tennessee Cerebral Palsy Telethons.

Grandchildren began to arrive in 1996 with the birth of Kelsey Elise Ledford. Ultimately, six incredible individuals were loved and supported by the best of grandfathers. Kelsey states that “He taught us how to find humor in the darkest of times, how strong a man can be in protecting his family and how to be patient when fishing.” From Kelsey to Bonnie Kaitlyn Ledford, Alexandra Keigan Thornton, Richard Parker Jones, Henry Bennett Jones and Colin Jett Jones, he loved them all.

In retirement, Richard and Linda traveled to Hawaii, the only state they had not seen in all the family road trips they had done. They returned to the area where Richard had served when they toured through Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. They took many trips with their children and grandchildren from Disneyworld, to New York, the White House, White Sox games and Hamilton.

In 2022, Richard and Linda had begun to develop health issues and they needed more support. They left their home for the Brookdale community in Nashville. Just 3 weeks before their 60th wedding anniversary, Linda passed away on January 20, 2024. Though he missed her, Richard decided he was going to live to the utmost. He loved fitness class, music and dinner with friends. The family wishes to express heartfelt appreciation to Richard’s special caregivers and friends, Vinny King and Shasta Craycraft.

Captain Higgins is survived by his children and grandchildren already mentioned but also their spouses/partners: Robert Alan Horwitz(Robin) Donald Bradley Jones(Beth) and Emmanuel Bonhomme(KaCarole), Sebastian Truchel(Kelsey), Andru Heath(Keigan) and Jordan Benner(Bonnie). Richard also leaves nieces and nephews: Mark Higgins, Melanie Rutkowski, David Gibbons, Daniel Gibbons, Avery Gibbons, Sarah Williams and their families.

“We are honored to be part of this family to carry on his legacy to serve, protect and provide good laughs” – Granddaughter, Bonnie Ledford

Memorial donations can be sent to either:

The Linda J Higgins Scholarship – University of Tennessee Foundation, College of Communications c/o Sarah Barclay – 1331 Circle Park Dr. – Knoxville, TN 37996

Or

Dr. David Morgan and the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (check to Vanderbilt University Medical Center Development – P.O. Box 290369 – 525 Royal Parkway – Nashville, TN 37229 or online at VanderbiltHealth.org/giving