Nancy Elizabeth DeVore Higgs

Nancy Elizabeth DeVore Higgs

Nancy Elizabeth DeVore Higgs, age 83, passed away on August 4, 2023, at her home in Hueytown, Alabama, from complications related to vascular dementia.

Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., Saturday, August 12, 2023, at Beloved Community Church, 131 41st Street South, Birmingham, with the memorial service following at 11:00 a.m. There will be a meal after the service for everyone.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Tom and Elizabeth Crane DeVore, and her sister, Harriet Ann DeVore; her parents-in-law, Zach, and Angie Rucker Higgs; and her sister-in-law Mary Ann Brown.

She is survived by her loving husband, the Rev. Dr. R. Lawton Higgs, Sr.; her children, Lawton Higgs, Jr., Lonna Lynn Euler Higgs, Kevin Price Higgs, Karla Price Higgs, Beth Ann Higgs, and Rodger Barnett; her grandchildren Mary Hannah Higgs, Dylan McKnight, Dylan Higgs, Sophia Higgs, and Kai Barnett; and her great-granddaughter, Madison McKnight. She is also survived by her sisters, Lea Groves and Carol Ruth DeVore; her brother-in-law Zach Higgs, Jr. and sister-in-law Michele Higgs, and many loving nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.

Nancy was born in Hueytown, Alabama, in 1939 and graduated from Hueytown High School, where she was a drum majorette. She graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham with a degree in elementary education. She taught in the Tuscaloosa County public school system at Brookwood Elementary for over 28 years, as well as the Calhoun County, Georgia, public school system.

Nancy was a creative educator and loved to try new things. She attended U.S. Space Camp, participated in lowering the boom to refuel a fighter jet with the Alabama Air National Guard 117th Air Refueling Wing, and attended the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Camp. She was a WILD-certified teacher through the State of Alabama. She enjoyed looking for wildflowers and attending the eagle watch weekends at Lake Guntersville State Park.

Nancy served in ministry alongside her husband in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. She started and led world-class Vacation Bible Schools at every church they served. She was a passionate advocate and teacher of children. They served churches in Shannon, Georgia, Coaling, Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Birmingham, Alabama. She was actively involved in the United Methodist Women and served as local church president, district president, and vice president of the North Alabama Conference. She was the NAC Communication Director for the UMW and the Chair of the North Alabama Conference Committee on Status and Role of Women (COSROW). She taught adults how to teach missions to children through geographic studies in regional, conference, district, and local church UMW Schools of Christian Mission across the United States. She served on the board of directors for the Eva Comer Trust Fund, where she was the treasurer, giving grants to mission organizations in North Alabama. She won the Dr. Louise Branscomb Barrier Breaker Award in 2007 as well as the Hattie Maude Vaughn Scholarship in 2017. She served as president of the Riley Community Center. Nancy participated in mission trips to Iquique, Chile, with the United Methodist Volunteers in Missions. For many years Nancy and her sisters, Carol Ruth DeVore and Harriet Ann DeVore took health kits to UMCOR Depot in Baldwin, Louisiana.

The family would like to thank Aveanna Hospice and Visiting Angels for their loving care.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to Beloved Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama http://www.belovedcommunitychurch.org/ or to the United Women of Faith Legacy Fund (formerly United Methodist Women). https://uwfaith.org/give/legacy-fund/.