John V. Higginbotham

John Vernon Higginbotham, age 79, of Temple died Thursday, October 5, 2006 in a local nursing home. Friends and family visitation will be held 5:00 – 8:00 PM Monday, October 9, at Scanio-Harper Funeral Home. Private burial will be in Valley Mills Cemetery. There will be no public memorial service. Johnny, as he was best known, was born July 3, 1927 in Valley Mills to Roosevelt and Sarah Marshall Higginbotham. He attended school there until his employment with the Santa Fe Railroad Company in 1942. He served one year in the U. S. Merchant Marines and later joined the U. S. Army where he was a sergeant in the transportation department at the time of his discharge in 1947. He served positions with Santa Fe throughout the Texas area as telegraph operator, clerk, station agent and dispatcher. He married Faye Acord in Valley Mills on October 12, 1950. He was involved in many civic activities in Valley Mill, was elected to the City Council and served as Mayor Pro Tem. He moved his family to Temple in 1957. He was a train dispatcher at the time of his retirement from Santa Fe in 1989 after 47 years of service. He had other business interests during that time. He was a licensed barber, owned and operated Johnny's Used Cars in association with Skyway Motors in Killeen and raised cattle on his Belton farm. He was a Mason and a member of the Baptist church. He was preceded in death by his parents and one son, Vernon Blake Higginbotham. He is survived by his wife, three sons, John Mark Higginbotham of Nashville, Tenn., Rhett Kevan Higginbotham and wife, Angela of Roanoke, and Paul Jerome Higginbotham and wife, Diane of Pflugerville. Also surviving are one brother, J. D. Higginbotham of Killeen, two sisters, Lois Lowery of Temple and Lucille Null of Huntsville, Ala. and four grandchildren, Andrew, Amanda, Alexis and Kaden. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Research Department at Scott and White Hospital or to the charity of one's choice.