Virginia Reid Higginbotham passed away after a brief illness on December 10, 2023, in Birmingham, AL.
Virginia, known as “Ginnie,” was born in Garden City, Alabama, on November 13, 1939, the second of four children of Edith LaVelle Helms Reid and Cannie Taft Reid.
Ginnie was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 61 years, John Elliot Higginbotham. Her brothers, Franklin Taft Reid and Ronald Hudson Reid are also deceased.
She is survived by her 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. She is also survived by her brother, John Roosevelt Reid and his wife, Hilma of Saraland, Alabama; sister-in-law, Martha Shaffer of Columbus, Ohio; brother-in-law, Tommy Higginbotham and his wife, Barbara of Florence, Alabama; and sister-in-law, Mary Jean Ligon of Florence; plus many cherished nieces and nephews and their families: Naomi and Chris Curtis of Sacramento, California; Mary and Craig Curtis of Columbus, Ohio; Andrea and Michael Cardillo of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Candace Higginbotham of Birmingham; Whitney and Shawn Ligon of Birmingham; DeanNa and Thomas Higginbotham of Cocoa, Florida; Renée and Luke Reid of Aiken, South Carolina; Ronald Reid, Jr., of Hanceville, Alabama; Sharon and Mark Reid of Hanceville; Victoria and Chad Perry of Trussville, Alabama; Casey and Britt Reid of Watkinsville, Georgia; Justin Reid and Tyler Reid of Saraland, Alabama.
After graduating Hanceville High School in 1957, Ginnie was awarded a scholarship to study journalism at Samford University in Birmingham. She later transferred to the University of North Alabama (then called Florence State College), where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education, English and art in 1962, and a Master of Arts degree in English and language arts teacher education in 1971. She met John during course registration at UNA, and they developed a bond as lab partners in zoology class.
Ginnie and John were avid water skiers on Shoals Creek over the summer break, and they married during the Christmas holidays (December 18, 1960).
After graduation from UNA, the couple moved to Birmingham, where Ginnie taught English at Berry High School and John attended Cumberland Law School. Following law school, Ginnie and John settled in Florence, where John practiced law for more than 50 years. Ginnie taught English and art at Central High School and at Bradshaw High School until the birth of their only child, Heather, in 1969.
Ginnie was involved over the years in a variety of local organizations, including the ladies auxiliary of the Lauderdale County Bar Association, the Montessori School, Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, Florence Ballet Company, Kennedy-Douglas Arts Center, and Tennessee Valley Art Association.
For decades, she was a competitive tennis player and member of many successful USTA teams in the area.
From 1983-1995, Ginnie served as Northwest Alabama Regional Director of the American Heart Association, where she worked with scores of dedicated volunteers to raise funds for heart disease research and prevention.
After her grandchildren were born, Ginnie returned to her love of oil painting, focusing on portraiture and plein air. She studied diligently under many teachers, including Billy Kirk from 2000-2009; attended workshops throughout the United States and in Italy with renowned artists such as Roger Dale Brown, Marc Hanson, Karen Hewitt Hagan, Hedi Moran, and Lori Putnam; and had recently enjoyed enrolling in figure drawing classes at UNA. Ginnie was a member of the Portrait Society of America. For several years, she was an invited artist to The Forgotten Coast en Plein Air event along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Ginnie exhibited her work in the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art’s annual membership show and other local venues.
After John retired in 2016, he and Ginnie took great pleasure in their family and home on Shoals Creek, where they lived since 1968. They traveled frequently to visit art museums across the United States and to visit Heather and her family in Virginia and North Carolina.
Ginnie moved to Birmingham in November 2023.
A memorial service will be announced in the coming weeks.
Those who wish to make a gift in Ginnie’s memory are encouraged to contribute to the American Heart Association or the University of North Alabama.
