Colonel (Ret) Jimmy Dean Wiggs, 83, of Huntsville, passed away Friday.
Survivors include his wife, Nancy M. Wiggs; daughter, Pamela Wiggs of The Colony, TN; sons, Terry Wiggs (Janet) of Honolulu, HI, Steven Wiggs of Gilbert, AZ, and Scott Wiggs (Kori) of Dunedin, FL; stepson, Michael Bunch (Julie) of Coal Valley, IL; stepdaughter, Linda Williams of Davenport, IA; 15 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; brother, Jerry Wiggs of Oklahoma City, OK; and his beloved dog, Lucy.
Jimmy was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma and was preceded in death by his parents, Wallace and Maybelle Wiggs of Oklahoma City, Ok. He graduated from Classen High School in Oklahoma City in 1951, received a BS degree from Oklahoma State University at Stillwater, OK in 1955 (when he also received his Regular Army Commission) and later a master’s degree from Webster University (St. Louis) in 1976. During high school, he worked for Bell Telephone Co. and Kerr McGee Oil Industries, Inc. in Oklahoma City, and during college, Leachman Theaters in Stillwater, OK.
Jimmy and Nancy, both previously married, met in Milan, IL in 1976. They married there the following year and moved to Huntsville in later 1977 when Jimmy received orders to Redstone Arsenal. He retired from the Army in 1981 after over 30 years of service; his assignments at Redstone Arsenal were Director of Maintenance at the Missile Command and subsequently as Director of Training Development, Ordnance Missile and Munitions School, his last assignment. After his initial active duty assignment in 1955 with an air defense artillery unit at Camp Hanford, WA protecting the Hanford Plutonium plants, he served in a variety of Ordnance Corps assignments in missile material development and field support activities with overseas duty in Hawaii, Sands Missile Range, NM, Fort Sill, OK and Germany. Other significant assignments include the Army Material Command in Washington, DC, the Pacific Command in HI, and the Safeguard ABM System at White Sands. His numerous awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters. After retirement, he worked several years with Triad Microsystems, Inc., a contractor in Research Park providing development support for an Army missile command and control system. He also participated in ROTC at Oklahoma State.
After full retirement in 1987, he was active in genealogy, writing a family history book, completed after over 25 years of research. He and Nancy traveled frequently visiting their children and grandchildren who lived all over the country. They also enjoyed travel visiting their extended family and friends through all the other states in the U.S., with frequent trips on river cruises and elsewhere in Canada, England, and Europe. Both enjoyed playing tennis, golf, computing, and other recreational activities.
Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday at Laughlin Service Funeral Home. A memorial service will follow in the chapel with Pastor Keith Cook officiating.
All those who knew and loved him would agree: He was a “good man”, dedicated to family, friends, and colleagues alike. He was an officer and a gentleman, and embodied the virtues of loyalty, duty, service, discipline, compassion, wit, humor and wisdom. He will be greatly missed but he remains in the hearts and minds of those who knew him.
