A Founding Member Passes On
Charles E. Higdon, passed away at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 11, 2009. The son of William Thomas Higdon, Charles E. was major support of the Higdon Family Association. Charles was the lawyer who wrote the Constitution and Bylaws of the HFA and kept the Association straight on what was legal and what was not. A large hole has been left in many hearts today that will be impossible to fill, except with our memories and remembrances of Charles E. and his stories. Charles E. will live on as we continue to meet and exchange memories of him and all the other members of our association who have passed on to their reward.
Charles Evans Higdon was born March 22, 1916 in Fannin County, Georgia to the late William Thomas Higdon and Mary Elmira Arp Higdon. He moved to Copperhill, Tennessee at an early age. After graduating from Copperhill High School in 1933, he attended Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tennessee in 1934 where he played varsity football, basketball and baseball. He transferred to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1935. While at the University of Tennessee, he was a three-year basketball letterman and the 1939 team captain, student body president in 1940, helped organize and served in 1939 as president of the Non-Fraternity Association, which gave "non-frats" a voice in student government and campus politics which they had not previously enjoyed. Mr. Higdon received degrees in Business Administration and Law.After graduation in 1940, he became a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serving in the Chicago, St. Louis, and Washington headquarters. During World War II, he was detailed to the United States Department of State serving as legal attache at the American Embassies in Montevideo, Uruguay and Quito, Ecuador. After World War II, he became a career Foreign Service Officer serving in Washington, D.C. and at U.S. diplomatic missions in Europe, Africa and Asia in a variety of positions. He received a Masters degree in International Affairs from George Washington University and was a graduate of the United States Army War College as a representative of the U.S. Department of State. In 1964 he was named to Marquis "Who's Who in America." After twenty-seven years with the United States Government, he retired in 1967, married and moved to Atlanta, Georgia. When his marriage ended in divorce, he returned to Knoxville and entered private law practice with associates Attorney Dexter A. Christenberry, Sr. and Attorney Sterling S. Brown. He retired from formal law practice in 1983, but remained active helping family and friends with legal problems. Mr. Higdon was a loyal fan of the University of Tennessee Vols and a member of the "T" Club, Knoxville Quarterback and Tip Off Clubs. He was also active in several local civic and professional organizations, including the Knoxville and Tennessee BAR Associations, Downtown Sertoma Club, XFBI, Sons of the Revolution, Deane Hill Country Club, and Willow Creek Golf Club. He was also an avid snow skier, golfer and international traveler. After many months of declining health, Charles was diagnosed with cancer in late 2006. He died peacefully on Sunday, January 11, 2009 at St. Mary's Residential Hospice in Knoxville, Tennessee at the age of ninety-two years. He is survived by nieces, Nan Higdon Harrison and husband Fred, of Richland, Michigan, Sarah Higdon Swain and husband Boone, of Lebanon, Tennessee, Jane Higdon Brackett and husband Tom, of McCaysville, Georgia, Bonnie Higdon Atkins and husband John, of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Martha Higdon Tidwell of Plano, TX; nephews, William A. Bautz and wife Judy, of New York, New York, William R. Higdon and wife Janice, of Moon, Virginia, Charles P. Higdon and wife Nancy, of Clinton, Tennessee, and Walter Q. Higdon and wife Tedene, of Knoxville, Tennessee. He is also survived by several grand nephews and grand nieces.
The image below of the High School Diploma of Charles Evans Higdon was sent to our Higdon Family Association Website via a Facebook posting in “Copperhill Group for preservation of pictorial history of the area” by Mike Harper.
Last update for this page:
