Obituary of Rose Marie (King) Higginbotham
Rose Marie (King) Higginbotham, 84 of Fairmont, WV died Friday, June 21, 2019. Rose was born at her family farm on Money near Reader, WV, November 3, 1934 to Edward Ray and Thelma King.
Rose graduated from Magnolia High School after which she worked as a switchboard operator for Hope Natural Gas Company in Clarksburg, WV until her marriage to Frank Higginbotham on June 7, 1954. For nearly 60 years Rose was a faithful companion to her husband, Frank, who preached for churches of Christ in WV—50 years were spent with the Virginia Avenue church of Christ in Chester, WV. She was known for her hospitality and sense of humor. Often she and Frank opened their home to their church family and kept many visiting preachers throughout the years, who can attest to her sense of humor with stories of the tricks she would play on them. She was also known for being an excellent cook and an immaculate homemaker. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will miss her greatly.
Rose obeyed the gospel at an early age and was a faithful member of Christ’s church, most recently of the Oakwood Road church of Christ.
Rose was preceded in death by her husband Frank, their daughter, Donna Marie, her parents, in-laws A.G. “Bus” and Garnet Higginbotham, a brother Russell King and four sisters-in-law Joreen Nicola, Sonia Rine, Evelyn King and Marian King. She is survived by a daughter, Amy Jane “Janie” (Brent) Gallagher of Fairmont and a son, Steven Franklin (Kim) Higginbotham of Knoxville, TN. She had seven grandchildren—Ryan (Kay) Gallagher, Amy (Chris) Saunders, Jason Gallagher, Kelli (Justin) Boitnott, Michael Higginbotham, Matthew (Claire) Higginbotham and Anne Marie Higginbotham; 5 great-grandchildren Noah, Ava and Sara Kate Gallagher and Amelia and Cole Saunders. She is also survived by two brothers, Lloyd King and Max (Navella) King and a sister-in-law, Nita Faye Leach.
Viewing will be at the Ford Funeral Home, 201 Columbia Street, Fairmont, WV 26554, on Sunday, June 23, 2019, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The funeral will be held in the funeral home on Monday, June 24, 2019 at 11:00 am with viewing being held from 10:00 am to 11:00 am at the funeral home with Evangelists John Board and David Roach who were considered “adopted” sons by Rose and Frank. A committal service will be held at North View Cemetery, 219 North State Route 2, New Martinsville, WV 26155, on Monday at 2 p.m. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.fordfuneralhomes.com.
A special thanks to the staff at Ruby Memorial Hospital, the hospice team and hospital staff at United Hospital Center for their kindness and compassion.
