Lennie Higgins, 76, of Brownsville, Ore., passed away Monday, January 27, 2020.
Lennie was born in Hays, Kansas to Henry Nicholas and Virginia (Spivey) Higgins. He grew up in McCracken, Kansas.
Lennie spent 6 years in the Navy, as did three of his brothers. He was proud of his time in the Navy. He was a fire control technician responsible for setting up the missile launches. He was a Plank owner of the Richard E Byrd - meaning he was part of the first crew on the ship. He was also on the USS Claude V. Ricketts (CV Ricketts) and the USS Benjamin Stoddert.
Lennie graduated with a degree in accounting from Central Washington University in 1975. He worked at ‘The Tav’ in Ellensbury while going to school. He worked for the University of Oregon as an accountant after graduation, then moved to Salem and worked for the state at Fairview for a couple of years before taking a job as an auditor for the IRS. There he spent time working in Salem, Portland, and Eugene. After retiring from the IRS he attended LBCC and learned a new trade in Heating & Refrigeration. He worked for Marshall in Springfield for many years. Lennie retired again and most recently was working at the Pioneer Villa Truck Stop in maintenance.
His children, Megan and Spencer, were born in Salem 1979 & 1981. They moved to Brownsville in 1986 to his little piece of paradise. He enjoyed coaching basketball & baseball youth teams of both Megan & Spencer. He enjoyed his time at home working on the property, the deck, and any other project he felt like starting. He married Sheryl L. Higgins in January 2000. He enjoyed going to the Brownsville Saloon for a drink with friends and his daily lottery ticket. And he enjoyed his two-year-old great granddaughter, Brooklyn, because she always made him laugh.
Lennie is survived by his wife, Sheryl Higgins; children, Megan Higgins of Portland, Traci Hannah and husband Larry of Albany, Tami Minnick and husband Robert of Albany; siblings, Martin Higgins and wife Mary of Lenexa, Kansas, James Higgins and wife Sue of El Cajon, CA, Suellen Amateis and husband Larry of Centennial, Colorado, Jan Higgins of Bayard, Nebraska, and Tracy Higgins and wife Leanne of Lakeside, California; 5 grandchildren; 2 great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his son, Spencer Ryan Higgins in August 2017; and his parents, Virginia and Nick Higgins.
There is a Portland Audubon camp scholarship fund named after his son Spencer. If people would like to donate there in Lennie’s name in lieu of flowers that would be great! Contributions may be made to the Spencer Ryan Higgins Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Audubon Society of Portland; 5151 NW Cornell Road, Portland, OR 97210.