Mary Louise Higgs, 60

November 15, 2013

Mary Louise Higgs, 60, of Lancaster, PA died peacefully at home on Friday, November 15, 2013 surrounded by her family. Lou was one of seven children born to Elsie and Bill Corlett, and grew up in Lemoyne, PA. She graduated from Cedar Cliff High School, received a bachelor’s in magazine journalism from Syracuse University, and earned a master’s in Business Technologies from Marymount University. Mary Lou worked for five years at the Office Technology Assessment, a Congressional think-tank, until its closure. She then served for eleven years at the National Science Foundation, where she was a member of the Senior Executive Service.
Mary Lou was blessed to have a soul mate of nearly 30 years, her husband, Mike Higgs, who took his wedding vows seriously, poor guy. She was the proud mother of 3 wonderful children, and 3 beautiful grandchildren.
She loved being with friends and family, traveling, reading books and gardening. Mary Lou contributed significant volunteer time to the Lancaster community through her work with St. John’s Episcopal Church and the refugee resettlement efforts with Church World Service. Known and beloved for her big heart, she was especially moved by the plights of refugees and children in need.
A Memorial Service will be at 11:00am on Saturday, November 23 with a reception to follow at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 321 W. Chestnut St, Lancaster, PA 17603. Mary Lou’s wishes were to have her body donated to the Humanity Gifts Registry. Memorial gifts should go to the Millennium Development Goals program of St. John’s Episcopal Church at the above address.