Dorothy Higgins

Many people go through life simply being alive, without ever experiencing its fullness and joy. Dorothy Higgins was a woman full of life and enjoyed every precious moment. Through work and play, hardship and illness, Dorothy never lost sight of the things in life that truly mattered. Her sincere enthusiasm for and confident approach to life was contagious and it increased the lives of all those around her.

In 1913, the skies had darkened over Europe and the raging conflict would soon drag the U.S. into the trenches of war. Despite the threat of war, Howard G. Stanton and his wife, Olive L. (Davis), of Caledonia, Michigan, had something wonderful to celebrate. On August 27, 1913, the couple was overjoyed with the birth of their daughter, Dorothy, who would be their only child.

Dorothy was born in Caledonia, where her father owned and operated a general store. Her father later opened another general store and gas station in Standale on Kinney Avenue and Lake Michigan Drive, and the family moved to the apartment above the store. Once school age, Dorothy received her education at Zinser Elementary School and graduated from Union High in 1930. She then went on to attend Grand Rapids Junior College, where she earned a degree in business and bookkeeping, and dabbled in floral arrangement classes. In addition to her studies, Dorothy also helped along in their general store, stocking shelves and waiting on customers.

In September 1930, Dorothy met her husband-to-be, Ralph Higgins, at a party through her friend, Jay Heyboer. The two dated for about a year before secretly eloping to Indiana and married in the home of a minister in November 1931. The newlyweds then returned to their respective homes and lived with their parents without anyone knowing their secret. After some time, the family gave the couple a wedding shower only to find out they were already married.

Once their secret was out, the newlyweds were finally able to settle into married life together in an apartment at Ralph’s Uncle Fred’s house on Alexander SE. At the time, Ralph provided for his new bride working as an Elevator Operator in the Grand Rapids Press Building. The couple lived in the apartment for 2 years and during that time they welcomed the birth of their son, William, in 1933. The family of three then moved to the small community of Coral, Michigan, where they owned and operated a general store and service station. Eventually, they moved back to Grand Rapids to help Dorothy’s father in his Grocers Baking Co. Her father than started Stanton Foods in Standale, which Dorothy and Ralph helped him establish, before moving on to his next business venture, Stanton General Store.

During this time, Dorothy and Ralph’s family grew with the birth of two more children: Richard (1939) and Patricia (1949), who completed the Higgins household. They raised their children in their family home at 449 Kinney Road, though they later rebuilt their home at 563 Kinney Road after the horrific tornado. Here, the children had some room to roam among their apple orchard and large garden, from which much of its bounty was sold at their roadside stand.

Tragically, on April 3, 1956, a F5 tornado demolished the town of Standale, leaving an entire community devastated. Dorothy and Ralph were determined to help their community and decided to build Standale Plaza to boost the town’s commercial economy. Dorothy’s father opened a shoe store in the Plaza, and Dorothy started Plaza Apparel, a shoe and clothing store, which she operated until the 1970s. Like her father, Dorothy was an astute businesswoman and well respected in the community. As such, she became a member of the Walker Planning Commission and the Standale Historic Society, and was the founding member of the Standale Garden Club. Dorothy was also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and the Daughters of the Revolution. She even collaborated in writing the book “Bend in the River,” which was about the community of Jenison, Michigan. Dorothy and Ralph were active members of the Trinity Congregational Church since 1970, where Dorothy was a member of the “39ers” and the quilting group. In the 1960s, Dorothy relied deeply on her faith and the love of her family after she was diagnosed with colon cancer, which she ultimately beat and recovered from.

Dorothy sold her store, Plaza Apparel, in the 1980s, and she and Ralph looked forward to retiring. In 1989, they bought a home on Collindale in Standale, as well as a motor home for their time away from home. They enjoyed traveling all over the U.S. and had been spending their winters in Florida since 1978. In fact, they eventually bought a park trailer in Sarasota for their winter trips, but they sold it in 1991 when traveling became too much for them. When home, Dorothy enjoyed spending her time reading every Mary Higgins Clark book there was, and knitting and crocheting afghans and caps for family, friends and donated many to the newborns in the hospital. Dorothy particularly enjoyed astrology and even did astrological charts for family and friends.

In the 1990s, Ralph developed congestive heart failure and his health slowly diminished. He eventually went to live at Pilgrim Manor in Grand Rapids, where he died on January 9, 1994. Not long after his passing, Dorothy moved to the Hampton Lake Apartments in Standale, but after her health started to wane, she went to live with her daughter, Pat, and her husband, Paul. She stayed with them for 5 years before moving to the Bishop Hill Assisted Living Facility in Rockford. Some time later, Dorothy developed Dementia and was moved to the Covenant Village of the Great Lakes in May 2007, and put under hospice care a year later.

A loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, she will be deeply missed.

Dorothy L. Higgins, age 94 of Standale, MI, passed away on Saturday evening, July 19, 2008, at Covenant Village of the Great Lakes. She was preceded in death by her parents, Howard and Olive Stanton; her husband, Ralph Higgins; her son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Marti Higgins; her daughter-in-law, Millie Higgins; and her granddaughter, Brenda Krenmeuler. She is survived by her children: William Higgins and his son, Bill Higgins Jr.; daughter and son-in-law, Pat and Paul Spangenberg and their children: Jennifer and John Kundel, Jody Ramsey and Jon Spangenberg; Richard’s children: Julie and Richard Buys, Sue Higgins; several great grandchildren, nieces, nephews and many friends.

A service to celebrate Dorothy’s life will be held on Wednesday, July 23, at 10:00 a.m. at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home – Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. NW, Grand Rapids. Relatives and friends may meet her family at the funeral home on Tuesday, July 22, from 6-9 p.m. and again on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. until the service begins. Please visit Dorothy’s personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory with her family or sign her online guest book.