Joseph Higgins, Osage City
Joseph Higgins of Osage City died Sunday, June 10, 2007, at St. Francis hospital in Topeka. He was 77.
Mr. Higgins worked for the Kansas Department of Transportation in Emporia for 13 years before he retired in 1995. After his retirement, he worked summers for the State Wildlife and Parks in Hartford and in the winter worked for USD 253 as a para-educator for the cooperation at the Toy Shoppe. Earlier, he worked at the stockyards in Kansas City as a buyer for Swift and Henry Commission Company. He then was a concrete foreman for the Clarkson Construction Company in Kansas City and later, owned and operated the National Hotel and Café in Burlington, was farm manager for a Dr. Reichard in Burlington for many years and then a farm manager for Dean Wilson at Hartford. He was drafted for the Korean War, during which he served as an artillery specialist. He moved to Osage City 10 years ago.
The son of Maurice and Kathleen King Higgins, he was born March 20, 1930, at Kansas City, Kan. He went to Blessed Sacrament Grade School, Dela Salle, then attended St. Benedict school before he entered the military.
He married Carol Ann Galvin on Oct. 6, 1956, at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Kansas City, Kan. She survives.
Mr. Higgins was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Osage City and previously was a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Burlington and St. Mary Catholic Church in Hartford. He was an active member of all the churches, serving as Eucharistic minister, religious education instructor, member of the parish council and grounds keeper. At Hartford, he was a member of the city commission. He coached baseball and softball for the young people and he and his wife were foster parents for more than 60 children.
He is also survived by five children, Michelle Giesy of Osage City, Marcia Higgins of Lebo, Dennis Higgins of LaCygne, Bridget Martinez of Tecumseh and Vicki Jesseph of Eureka; two sisters, Joan Slusher of Kansas City, Mo., and Betty Pope of Alexander, Va.; one brother, Pat Higgins of Bonner Springs; 18 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. An infant son; a sister, Kitty “Dolly” Dolan; and two brothers, Maurice Higgins and Charles Higgins, died earlier.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Osage City. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery at Hartford. The family will meet friends from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday at the church, with the rosary to be recited at 7 p.m. Friends also may call from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday at the VanArsdale Funeral Chapel in Osage City.
Memorial contributions to St. Patrick Catholic Church may be sent in care of the funeral home, 107 N. Sixth, Osage City, KS 66523.