Lorin D Higley

Lorin Dewey Higley was born in Sugar City, Idaho on July 4th, 1935, the oldest child of Phyllis Wardle and Clyde Dewey Higley in a little home that was later destroyed in the Teton Dam disaster. He attended elementary school in Pocatello and then in junior high, his father bought a ranch and they moved out to Pingree to raise sugar beets. Much to his father's disappointment, Lorin was not interested in ranching and chose to attend Grimm's Business College after graduation while working nights at State Hospital. He had tried to enter the military to pay for his education, but his chronic skin condition and allergies caused him to be rejected. After his marriage to Carole M. Payne in 1959 however, he found himself drafted into the army where he was trained as a paratrooper but worked clerical/typist as a court reporter. He boxed for the 101st Airborne in the Third Army in 58-59 before being deployed to Germany. During his tour there, Harold Dewey was born in 1960. After his return, Lorin attended Idaho State University and Kathaleen was born in 1962. Kathy would become such a blessing and helpmeet to him and the whole family in his latter years despite her parents divorcing when she was still a toddler. Lorin became reacquainted with Roberta Lee Strawn whom he had grown up with. They had attended elementary school together in Pocatello, Idaho with his sister Sherran and had remained friends through out their public school years. They were married on July 3rd,1964, and Roberta brought her two children to the marriage, John Ballard (1954) and Cheri Coleman (1958), who Lorin later adopted. After their marriage, they moved to Roseburg, Oregon where he taught at Umpqua Community College and worked as a journeyman baker. Lorin Benjamin was born to them there in December of 1964. A move to the Eugene and Springfield area allowed Lorin to study secondary education and theater at Oregon State University. In 1967, shortly after the birth of Loralee Jo, they moved to Alberta, Canada and later to Vancouver Island in British Columbia. On the island, Lorin was a junior secondary business and typing teacher at George Bonner for 13 years, concurrently teaching at Malaspina College and Shawnigan Lake Boys School. He was also a fencing instructor in the area. There he was also an active member of the January Players, a community theater group in the city of Duncan. While in British Columbia, Kori Roberta was born in 1969. Lorin was just a big ol' kid at heart and always wanted the house full of "kiddies" to play with and so they took in a family of Canadian foster children, later adopting Loralee Rose, Nancy Caroline and Robin Edward before returning to the states. Lorin's health however, suffered incredibly in the climate there, and so in 1980, he moved the family to Las Vegas, NV. There, his health improved, but teaching in the U.S. School system did not pay enough to support such a large family and so he returned to baking as a pastry chef at the Desert Inn and then went back to security, working many years on the Nevada Test Site in Mercury and Area 12. Lorin loved to read and learn, everything from astronomy to languages and over the years he taught himself to speak German, then Spanish and later Hebrew. He served a tour with the Israeli Armed Forces in order to improve his skills and later lived in Israel for a season, studying at Hebrew University. He loved to attend Jewish Synagogue in Las Vegas where he delighted in singing for High Holidays almost as much as he loved serving in the LDS temple. He became known as the "Mormon Jew". In 1994, at the age of 60, they moved to California in hopes of obtaining a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies at Claremont University, and though he came very close, health challenges prevented him from completing this goal, so he returned to teaching business and later back to security. Lorin and Roberta were sealed in the Saint George Temple. In his latter years, after finally retiring, he loved indexing genealogical records and served as a faithful home teacher to the very end. In his words: "Pray give me a joyous send off...Neither tears nor flowers are appropriate for I am allergic to both. There will be few who are as glad as I am to get quit of mortality, for it weighed heavily upon me. "Death is but a part of mortality, a necessary step in our existence...The Messiah provides the only way to return to our Heavenly Father, to the goal of eternal life. There is no other way than through Jesus the Christ." Lorin passed on December 17th, 2015, in Las Vegas, NV. Awaiting his arrival on the other side were his parents, son Harold Higley, step-son John Ballard, and brother Tracey Vernon and of course, his eternal companion, Roberta Lee Strawn Higley. Missing him here are his sister Sherran (Earl) Keele, brother Kip (Kay ) Higley, uncle/friend Ervin (Lucille) Higley, step-father Wallie (Shirley) Reade, daughters, Kathy (Curt) Higley, Cheri (Nick) Russell, Loralee (Manni) Kurzius, Rose (Mark) Swena, Kori (Allan) Devore, Nancy (Jason) Higley and sons Lorin Benjamin (Polly) Higley and Robin (Jessie) Higley as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Dad requested a graveside service which will take place at Palm Eastern Mortuary 7600 S. Eastern, Las Vegas, NV 89123 followed by an informal celebration of life which will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6100 Alta Drive, Las Vegas, NV 80107. Many thanks to Evergreen Ward for once again going the extra mile in helping our family out.