Carol Ann Higgins, 79, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at the Glen Oak’s Alzheimer’s Care Center in Urbandale, Iowa. A celebration of life gathering will be held on Wednesday, April 5th from 5 to 8 pm at the Merle Hay Chapel, 4400 Merle Hay Rd in Des Moines.
Carol was born on Christmas Eve 1943 to Ed & Mildred (Stanley) Niswender. Carol and the family moved around frequently in her younger years, and they were in Prairie City, Iowa when she graduated high school. She loved horses, and in her younger years raised, trained and showed horses and was quite good at it. She kept horses for most of her life. Carol was living in Altoona when she met Pat Higgins, they were united in marriage on October 5, 1991. She worked at the bank in Altoona for many years, and then spent the last 14 years of her working life at the Iowa DOT, retiring in 2008. She and Pat enjoyed fishing, camping and hunting for mushrooms in the woods behind their home. Carol also enjoyed cooking & canning, and sitting on her porch watching the hummingbirds.
She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Mary Stookey, two brothers-in-law, Michael Keiler & Doug Higgins and a niece Deb Keiler. Carol is survived by her husband Pat, son Tim (Kelly) Thorne, two daughters, Lisa (Mick Smeltzer) Davis, Lynette (Kent) Heuser, sister Betty Keiler and her grandchildren, Austin, Kalyn, Kurt (K.C.) & Eleanor. In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Gentiva Hospice, 4601 Westown Pkwy #105, West Des Moines.
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