MARY FRANCES HIGGINBOTHAM, 93, was born Jan. 10,
1910 in Corsicana, TX to Alice Agnes Roche & Francis
Andrew Higginbotham and died March 16, 2003, with
interment at Evergreen Cemetery in Ranger, TX.
She was in the St. Rita's High School Class of 1926.
She attended Ranger Junior College. She had two
brothers, Paul J. and James and a sister, Agnes
Higginbotham Robinson (RHS-1933). Her brother, Paul,
was ordained a Catholic priest and was elevated to
Monsignor. She worked for Adams Grocery for many
years and never married. As well, Mary Frances
was housekeeper for the St. Rita's Catholic Rectory
and worked for George Fengler at the O.K. Grocery
in Ranger for a number of years.
BROTHER: MONSIGNOR PAUL J. HIGGINBOTHAM, 84, died
on March 3, 1995 in a local nursing home with burial
at Evergreen Cemetery in Ranger, TX.
Mr. Higginbotham was born in Corsicana, TX on Jan. 29,
1911 & attended school in Ranger and Amarillo. He later
returned to Ranger and worked in the oilfield. He worked
for an aircraft company in California and was a U.S.
Navy veteran of World War II.
He attended St. John's Seminary in San Antonio and was
ordained in 1950 at the age of 39. He served 12 parishes
in the Dallas & Fort Worth dioceses and was pastor of St.
Mary's Parish in Henrietta for 15 years. His activities
included being chaplain of military groups and hospitals,
bus driver, catechist, coach, scoutmaster, church secretary,
gardener, and janitor.
One day after he turned 75 - the mandatory retirement age
for priests under the new Code of Cannon Law - Higginbotham
was informed by Bishop Joseph P. Delaney that he would be
given the title of Monsignor.
Higginbotham wrote a book of poetry titled "The Seven Stars",
published in 1955, and wrote a weekly feature called "Rambling
with the Rambler" under the pen name Wayne Wallace for the
Ranger Times in 1937-38. He was a member of Knights of Columbus
at St. Rita's Catholic Church.
Survivors at the time of his death include one sister, Mary
Francis Higginbotham (RHS-1926) of Ranger.