Elizabeth Anne Higgins

January 22, 1933 to July 5, 2012

Born January 22, 1933 to Katherine and Harry Kennedy in White Plains, New York; the third of six children: Jim, Vincent, Elizabeth, Jack, Peggy and Katherine. Elizabeth was known to most friends and family as Liz.

Colonel Harry Kennedy and family moved where the military required throughout his career. They lived in New York and Texas; moved to China when Liz was just four; then to the Presidio in San Francisco where her children remember her stories of having to use “blackout blinds” at night to keep from being a target to enemy bombs during WWII. (They had lived in China until the Japanese invaded...)

Liz talked about an interesting and relatively happy life growing up in The Presidio, then Burlingame. She was kind of a shy girl and so she loved reading (all her life). She loved school and skipped a grade early on, so that she graduated from Mercy High School at just 16 years old (1949). She had such fond memories of Mercy High and had recently gone to her 60-year reunion where she met up with her best friend, Maureen Spencer. She and Maureen stayed close from high school until today.

They had some of the best memories together when they finished high school, then both went down to the College of San Mateo to enroll. These two young girls who had been sheltered in the environment of a small all-girl school found CSM daunting and dropped out pretty quick. Then Liz decided that she could maybe handle Holy Name College. She lived with a favorite older cousin, Katherine Vance, and Katherine's husband and children, all younger than Liz. She loved this time of her life and learned a lot from Katherine about how to apply makeup and look more sophisticated in general (lets just say Liz never got carded in a bar). She also learned that she wasn't really into college.

In the meantime, about 1951, her friend Maureen had started working at Anglo Bank in San Francisco and she talked Liz into joining her there. Liz started working in their Accounting Department and they really had fun in the city. Maureen and Liz, and numerous of their co-workers would go out to clubs to socialize, dance, and maybe drink a little... They just had to make sure to catch the last train to Burlingame at 10:30 pm. They loved this time of their lives, taking the train to San Francisco every day, meeting and dating their co-workers and friends.

At this time Liz was dating Jack Heinrichs (a friend to this day) and Maureen was dating other guys. (She hadn't yet met her Stan Spencer). A group of these young professionals went to a wedding together, Liz with Jack and her friend Richard Higgins (known as Dick) with his date. At some point Jack found that Dick's date needed a ride home (hmm) and they left – Liz and Dick at the party with their dates gone. Well... weeks later they were engaged. They got married August 24, 1952. They guys in their group, including Dick, enlisted in the service, WWII still active. Dick was a paratrooper, stationed in North Carolina and fortunately never needed to go to war.

When Dick's tour was done, he took advantage of the GI bill, went to San Jose State, and got his BS in Accounting. Before he finished, their first child, Susan, was born. (They had managed to honeymoon in lovely Mexico (Tijuana...) for a week. Liz came home with morning sickness.) As long as the family had started itself, they went ahead and had Peggy (1954), Richard (1958) and Sara (1959). They moved from their original shoebox that was student housing to better and better homes in those early years. The young family mostly grew up on Castlewood Drive in San Jose, from about 1961 to 1972. Dick worked for various companies as an accountant controller – Price Waterhouse, FMC, etc. but really found his calling when his friend Steve Jackson talked him into starting their own plumbing contracting company, San Jose Mechanical. They had a few ups and downs, but SJM is where they both were most satisfied and prosperous.

The family moved to Willow Glen in 1972, until 1988, when they built a house on the delta and moved to Discovery Bay. This started the boating years and the year when their children and grandchildren loved to come hang out.

Susan married Andy Brown and had Kristen, Ted and Megan. Peggy married Kevin Forbes and had Stuart and Katie. Richard Jr. married Desiree Howton and had Erica and Richard III. Sara married Jeff Wagner and had Dylan. The grandchildren all enjoyed the water scene and boat life in Discovery Bay and Grandma cooked all their favorite dinners. Many a holiday and memories were made in “D.B.”

After 10 years of boat life and bliss on the water, it was time for mountain life. So Dick and Liz packed up their gear and headed for a change of scene in Auburn where they found their home in Lake of the Pines. With access to a lake and views of mountain oaks, they once again enjoyed the company of the children and grandchildren. More holidays and milestones were enjoyed and they were closer to their dearest friends. Golf, club life and get-togethers were always looked forward to. Liz and Dick spent their happiest few years in Lake of the Pines until Dick was too sick to stay that far from their children. He had planned ahead and Liz was very sad to leave such a story-book setting.

Next they moved to Fremont to be with their family where Dick got to spend one more year with us; he died on 8/14/06. It was a sad time for Liz, but the apartment she and Dick shared gave her some solace as she was surrounded by a touch of luxury, independence, and visits by her grandchildren. She was always happy to have company and dearly missed Dick (not the happiest time). She kept in touch with her sisters and dear high school friends and of course, many doctors. Sue and Sara devoted many hours and nights to her as she progressed through her illness and in the end she was deeply grateful although she did have her signature and reserved way of showing it.

She knew when it was her time to go, and she slipped away peacefully in the night. She will be truly missed. Her smile, sarcasm, expressive eyes, guidance, and never-failing opinions will be missed also. She was always there when needed and the loss will be felt by all.

She leaves behind her sisters Peg Byrom and Katherine Dierkes, and her children Susan Brown, Richard Higgins Jr., and Sara Wagner. She was predeceased by her daughter Peggy (8/04) and brothers Jim, Vincent, and Jack.