John P. Higgins

JOHN PETER HIGGINS, 76, passed away on Sunday, July 30, 2017 at Embassy Care Facility.
Services will be at 10:30 AM, Tuesday, August 8, at Mater Dei Church (Nativity Center) located at 4242 Natalia Way in Sioux City with Rev. Bradley C. Pelzel officiating. Visitation will be 4:00 - 8:00 PM on Monday, August 7, at Christy-Smith Funeral Home, Morningside Chapel, a Rosary will be held at 4:00PM, family present from 5 to 8 PM, and a Parish Vigil Service at 7:00 PM. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery.
On-line condolences can be made at www.christysmith.com
John was born May 31, 1941 in Jefferson, SD to Jerry and Irene (Beaubien) Higgins. His family rented various farms in Iowa, before settling in Sioux City when he entered the 8th grade. He attended St. Boniface, and graduated from Heelan High School in 1959. He worked as a custodian his junior and senior years.
John married Mary Ann Goettertz at the Cathedral of the Epiphany on Nov. 14, 1959.
He started married life digging graves at Calvary Cemetery, then working at Sioux Tools. John was accepted into the electrical apprenticeship program and continued in the trade for 43 years. He became an electrical contractor and estimator holding electrical contractor's licenses for the State of South Dakota, Nebraska, and the City of Sioux City. During his lifetime he served on the Electrical Apprenticeship Committee, as Chairman on the State Electrical Safety Committee, and Chairman of the State Electrical Education Committee. He taught electrical apprenticeship for 10 years and journeyman wiremen classes; designed an electrical maintenance class for Western Iowa Tech and taught the class for 3 years. He also worked for 5 years at Prince Manufacturing as a Maintenance Electrician. He retired in 2003 as a result of a medical disability.
John loved spending time with his family, playing cards, riding roller coasters (in his younger years), woodworking, genealogy, attending sporting events for grandkids, and even having tea parties with his 3 year old granddaughter. He enjoyed traveling including a “bucket-list” trip to Alaska in 2013. John was a skilled handyman and instructed all his kids in the use of basic tools. He built an addition onto his home in 1975 and owned a handyman business in the early 1980’s. John was an active member of Nativity Parish; singing in the choir, serving as President of the Nativity Parish Council, Parish Director and Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, and on the Ad Hoc Committee for building the Mater Dei School.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann, three daughters: Julie (Bill) Zediker, Lisa (Keith) Felts, and Shanna (Brad) Duggan; two sons: Tim (Angela) Higgins, and Chris (Jill) Higgins. He has 15 grandchildren, one great grandchild, and two more on the way; three sisters: LaTricia “Tish” Pranke (Sioux City), Karen Swenson (Des Moines), Margaret “Peg” Myers (Coarsegold, CA), and one brother Michael Higgins (Norco, CA).
He is preceded in death by his daughter, Sandra, as well as his parents, Jerry and Irene Higgins, and a sister LaNease Steckelberg.