John Elliott Higginbotham passed away at his home in Florence, Alabama, on March 10, 2022.
John was born in Lexington, Alabama, on November 5, 1936, the oldest of four children of Christine Wilson Higginbotham and Lewis Clark Higginbotham.
John is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Virginia (Ginnie) Reid Higginbotham, daughter Heather Higginbotham Ward, son-in-law John Logan Ward, Jr., and grandchildren Luther Finn Ward and Eliot Morrow Ward of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is also survived by his brother Thomas Higginbotham and sister-in-law Barbara of Florence, and sisters Martha Shaffer of Columbus, Ohio, and Mary Jean Ligon of Florence. John was a brother-in-law to Taft Reid and to John and Hilma Reid. Many beloved nieces and nephews will remember him fondly as “Uncle John”: Naomi and Chris Curtis of Sacramento, California; Mary and Craig Curtis of Columbus, Ohio; Andrea Geissler of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Candace Higginbotham of Birmingham; Whitney and Shawn Ligon of Birmingham; DeanNa and Thomas Higginbotham of Cocoa, Florida; Renee and Luke Reid of Aiken, South Carolina; Ronald Reid, Jr. of Hanceville, Alabama; Sharon and Mark Reid of Hanceville, Alabama; Victoria and Chad Perry of Trussville, Alabama; Casey and Britt Reid of Watkinsville, Georgia; Justin Reid and Tyler Reid of Saraland, Alabama. John is preceded in death by brothers-in-law Ronald Reid, Allen Ligon, Harley Shaffer, and Joe Yearling, and by sister-in-law Violet Reid.
After attending Coffee High School, John joined the United States Air Force and served for four years as a medical technician stationed at Lake Charles, Louisiana. John then earned a Bachelors degree in History from the University of North Alabama in 1962, where he met Ginnie. They married during the Christmas holidays of their senior year. John went on to obtain his Juris Doctor degree from Cumberland Law School in 1965, while Ginnie taught English at Berry High School in Birmingham.
Following law school, the couple settled in Florence, where John opened a private law practice. He was a skilled litigator known for his rapport with juries and a committed plaintiff’s attorney. He developed a successful practice specializing in personal injury and product liability. In 1979, Randy Whitten became John’s law partner; other partners over the years include Doug Evans, Robert Barclift, and Thomas McCutcheon, who remained close friends and colleagues. In 2015, John was recognized by the Alabama State Bar for 50 years in the practice of law. He was a member of the Lauderdale County Bar Association, Alabama Bar Association, and American Bar Association. John was elected president of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association in 1992-93 and was an active member for many decades.
In 1982, John was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in a special election representing his home district. He chose not to run for reelection, but maintained a keen interest in local, state, and national politics. A lifelong Democrat, John served as a delegate to the 1984 Democratic Party Convention in San Francisco, California. He was also active for several decades with the Lauderdale County Democratic Executive Committee.
Outside of practicing law, John enjoyed hunting, fishing, horses, dogs, and golf. For 40 consecutive years, John traveled to South Dakota to hunt pheasant, always bringing along Alabama friends and family and a good retriever. He regularly hunted deer, quail, and dove in the fields and woods of North Alabama. John competed in field trials for many years and always kept pointers and Tennessee walking horses. For more than a decade, John traveled frequently to Orange Beach, Alabama, where he docked a boat for saltwater fishing. When not hunting, John was an avid golfer for 35 years at Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club.
After John retired in 2016, he took great pleasure in his family and home on Shoals Creek, where he and Ginnie have lived since 1968. Ginnie, a local artist and former educator, retired from her position as regional director for the American Heart Association in 1995. John was always up for a trip to visit their daughter Heather and her husband Logan, and even more so once his beloved grandchildren were born. Ginnie and John also enjoyed visiting art museums across the United States and celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in Italy.
Family and friends will remember John’s quiet confidence, wisdom, patience, kindness and handsome good looks. He believed in fairness, education, and equal opportunities for all people and was accepting of differences, values he passes on to younger generations.
A memorial service will be announced in the coming weeks.
Those who wish to make a gift in John’s memory are encouraged to contribute to the American Heart Association or the University of North Alabama.
