Kay (McDermett) Higgins, 87, passed away peacefully at home with her family by her side on Friday, September 11, 2015. She was born in Wichita Falls, TX to the late Gage and Kathryn (Hopper) McDermett and was a graduate of Wichita Falls HS and Hardin Junior College, both in Wichita Falls, TX. Kay was an herbalist who owned the Beehive Herb shop and display gardens in Southampton and was a member of the Herb Society of America since 1980. She was a communicant of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church in Westfield, a member of the Parish Council and a member of the Rosary Sodality. Kay also enjoyed quilting, culinary and decorative herbs and creative crafts. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, James M. Higgins (retired Lt. Col, USAF) in 2010, and is survived by her 6 loving children: Nancy L. Gwinn and her husband Bob of Roseville, CA, John P. Higgins and his wife Michele of Southampton, MA, Charles G. Higgins and his wife Maryann Scott-Smith of Wilbraham, MA, Kathryn A. Crigger of Southampton, MA, Thomas Mark Higgins of West Newton, MA and James Michael Higgins and his wife Karen of Colorado Springs, CO. She also leaves 10 grandchildren: Melissa Higgins and her husband Matt Lincoln, Amie and her husband Ben Allaire, Alyson and her husband Yann Pirio, Michelle and her husband Will Pellerin, Heather and her husband Jason Valenta, Natashia and her husband Josh Walter, Shannon and her husband Carlos Sanchez, Mark Higgins, Sean Higgins, Gage Higgins, and 3 great grandchildren, Andrew Pellerin, Hayllie Lilly, and Orion Walter. Kay is also survived by her sister Nancy Chick of Fort Worth, TX. She also leaves longtime dear friends, Don Ostroski and Joanne Fappiano, and Joe and Mary Dupuis. Her funeral will be held on Thursday, September, 17 at 8:30 AM from the Firtion Adams FS, 76 Broad St.Westfield, MA followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 9:30 AM in Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church, 127 Holyoke Road, Westfield. Burial will follow in the Massachusetts’s Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1390 Main St., Agawam, MA 01001. Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, from 5-7 PM at the funeral home. Contributions in lieu of flowers in Kay’s name may be directed to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Attn: Memorial and Honor Program, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905 or any local animal shelter.
