Robert "Bob" Price Higgins

Robert “Bob” Price Higgins, 90, of Givens Estates in Asheville, passed away December 18, 2022.

Born October 8, 1932 in Denver, Colorado to Jay and Amy (Gates) Higgins, Bob grew up in Denver, where he met Gwen Litherland in South High School. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve after his 17th birthday, and rose to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant by 1954, when he had completed his BA and MA at the University of Colorado. He married Gwen on August 15, 1954, and received his PhD from Duke University in 1961.

Dr. Higgins was Associate Professor of Biology at Wake Forest University, before taking a sabbatical in 1968 at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He joined the Oceanography and Limnology Program of the Smithsonian Institution, serving as the Director of a Smithsonian/United Nations-related marine biology program in Carthage, Tunisia, and as the acting Science Attache of the U.S. Embassy in Tunis from 1969-1971. The family returned to Vienna, Virginia, where Bob worked as a Research Scientist and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian from until his retirement in 1993.

Dr. Higgins’ primary research interests included meiofaunal systematics, life-history, and ecology. He conducted research in over 50 countries. For over 45 years he has been recognized as the international authority on the Kinorhyncha, a phylum of microscopic invertebrates living in marine sediment. Nine animal species have been named in honor of Dr Higgins, including the Loricifera.

Bob and Gwen retired in Asheville, North Carolina, where they were members of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church and joined the community of Givens Estates. After Gwen’s passing, he has enjoyed the company of many close friends, his best friend and companion, Susie, and has been actively painting landscapes and pet portraits.

In addition to his parents, Bob was predeceased by his wife Gwen and his son Scott, and his brother William Jacque Higgins. He is survived by his son Kent Higgins of Amherst, Massachusetts, granddaughters Lucy Higgins Atkins of Whitefield, Maine and Genevieve Atkins Higgins, her husband Rosendo Santizo and his great granddaughter Mila Santizo of Hadley, Massachusetts, and daughter, Kim Higgins, of Staunton, Virginia.

A private memorial service was held at Givens Estates in Asheville. In lieu of flowers, the family would like to suggest a donation to an animal rescue organization or the Given’s Employee Assistance Fund.

Groce Funeral Home’s Lake Julian team is assisting the family.