The Reverend George B. Higgins died on April 25th at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, NY at the age of 87. Reverend Higgins will be waked at Hawthorne Funeral Home, 21 W. Stevens Ave., Hawthorne, NY during the hours of 3:00 to 7:00 pm on Sunday April 27th with funeral services at Briarcliff Congregational Church , 25 S. State Red., Briarcliff Manor, NY to be held at 10:00 am on April 28th. He is survived by his loving family.
“The Rev” will be fondly remembered as a lively presence in the pulpit and throughout the communities where he lived during his many successful pastorates. With his tartan Tam O’Shanter, his Scottish mustache and walking stick (aka: his companion) he was always ready to engage anyone he crossed paths with – on just about any known subject.
George was born and raised in North Adams, MA and always maintained a healthy pride in all things New England, especially with regard to the Red Sox, The Berkshires, Cape Cod and his Pilgrim roots all the way back to the Mayflower. George also loved to honor his Scottish and Nova Scotian heritage.
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After graduating from Williams College in 1945 he entered the US Navy. After an honorable discharge, he answered his call to the ministry earning a Master’s in Divinity from New York Theological Seminary.
During that time, he married Marie Stovel of Devonshire Bermuda and accepted his first pastorate at the Congregational church in Vernon CT where they also began their family. Thereafter, he went on to serve multi-year stints at churches in Milford NH, Dover DE, Stony Stratford UK, Dalton MA, Briarcliff Manor NY and Hawthorne NY.
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Known as an excellent builder of congregations as well as a thorough and entertaining preacher, many will fondly remember his different pulpit traditions – most especially his Christmas Eve rendering of the birth of Christ in the Braid Scotts translation.
George enjoyed a life-long affiliation with Camp Beckett where he spent his childhood summers and Williams College returning each year for alumni reunions. He also enjoyed his many civic involvements including terms serving as Town Moderator in Eastham MA, Dalton MA and Milford NH, Chairman of the Cape Cod Conservation Committee, active membership in local Rotary Clubs and his time as Chaplain and ambulance driver at the BMFD.
