| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Andrew Lee Higgins, a longtime coach and teacher in |
|
|
the Houston Independent School District, passed away on November 2, |
|
|
2014, at the age of 68, leaving his loved ones to treasure a life |
|
|
that was rich in meaningful accomplishments; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Higgins was born to Columbus and Cleopatra |
|
|
Higgins on May 28, 1946, in Brazoria; the 10th of 13 children, he |
|
|
grew up in a small farming community known as Higgins Settlement, |
|
|
near Sweeny; Mr. Higgins was an accomplished athlete at George |
|
|
Washington Carver High School, where he earned All-State honors as |
|
|
a member of the school's football team; after finishing high |
|
|
school, he continued to play football at Wharton Junior College and |
|
|
then at Texas Southern University; he earned a bachelor's degree in |
|
|
physical education at TSU and later returned to the university to |
|
|
complete a master's degree in the same field; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, While in college, Andrew Higgins met the love of his |
|
|
life, Verlinda Joyce Cox, and they exchanged the vows of matrimony |
|
|
on December 4, 1971, after a whirlwind romance; the couple shared a |
|
|
rewarding marriage that spanned nearly 43 years, and they became |
|
|
the proud parents of four children, Andrea, Andrew, Ashley, and |
|
|
Angela; Mr. Higgins also experienced the joy of welcoming six |
|
|
grandchildren into his cherished family; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Andrew Higgins taught and coached at Northwood |
|
|
Middle School in the North Forest Independent School District |
|
|
before joining the Houston ISD; he went on to coach baseball and |
|
|
football at Westbury, Sterling, and Worthing High Schools and to |
|
|
lead several of his teams to district championships; dedicated to |
|
|
his students, he continued to work even after receiving a leukemia |
|
|
diagnosis in 2004, though health concerns ultimately caused him to |
|
|
retire after a sterling 37-year career; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This esteemed gentleman was active in a number of |
|
|
worthwhile organizations and causes in the Bayou City; he |
|
|
volunteered his time as a precinct chair and precinct judge for |
|
|
Precinct 140 and served as a delegate to state and national |
|
|
Democratic conventions; moreover, he was a valued congregant of |
|
|
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, which he joined in 1966, and he |
|
|
served as a member of the church's Courtesy Corps and as a |
|
|
scoutmaster for its Boy Scout troop; he was also a member of the |
|
|
Texas Coaches Association, Riverside Terrace Civic Club, and Phi |
|
|
Beta Sigma Fraternity; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Andrew Higgins lived a full and generous life |
|
|
centered on his family, his students, and his community, and he will |
|
|
long be remembered with deep affection by all those who were |
|
|
privileged to know him; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Andrew Lee Higgins |
|
|
and extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his |
|
|
wife, Verlinda Higgins; to his children, Andrea Simon and her |
|
|
husband, Ramon, Andrew Higgins and his wife, Wendy, Ashley Higgins, |
|
|
and Angela Redding and her husband, Nathan; to his grandchildren, |
|
|
Symone, Sydney, and Ryan Simon, Brisa and Sofia Higgins, and James |
|
|
Redding; to his siblings, Stratton Higgins and his wife, Thelma, |
|
|
Carrie Sneed, Jerry Higgins Sr. and his wife, Jean, Travis Higgins |
|
|
and his wife, Erma, Polly Cooper and her husband, Ernest, Geneva |
|
|
Shannon, Priscilla Wilkins, Lannis Higgins, and Lola Newman and her |
|
|
husband, Calvin; to his mother-in-law, Dicy Bolivar; and to his |
|
|
other relatives and friends; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
|
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Andrew Lee |
|
|
Higgins. |