PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Paul Higgins, 86, passed away at home on September 28, 2017, peacefully and surrounded by family, after a brief illness. He was born on December 29, 1930, the son of Frank and Marie (Washburn) Higgins.
After graduating from Presque Isle High School, Paul entered the Navy. He returned home to begin a lifelong career on the family farm. A licensed commercial pilot who flew thousands of hours throughout his life, Paul founded and operated Aroostook Airways with his brother George and others in the 1960s and 70s.
Paul loved the Maine woods, his camp at Scopan, making maple syrup and selling Christmas trees on the family farm. He was a Mason, a Shriner and a lifetime member of the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club. An avid golfer, Paul was thrilled, at age 84, to get a hole in one in 2015.
Paul will be missed by his fellow worshipers in the Presque Isle Congregational Church, his friends at the Northeastland Hotel coffee shop, and the folks at the golf course.
Paul was predeceased by his brother, George Higgins; and sister, Nancy (Higgins) Hughes. He is survived by his loving wife, Darlene Higgins; children, Steven Higgins and wife, Diana, Mark Higgins, Frank Higgins and wife, Elizabeth, Todd Ashby, Barb (Ashby) Springer and husband, Steven, Jeff Ashby and partner, Desiree Chasse, and Barbara Hayslett; grandchildren, Lucas, Shawn, Lindsey, Devin, Chase, Nicholas, Michael, Alex, Lillian, and Izabelle; and great-grandchildren, Lily, Penelope, Adelaide, and Ellinora.
Paul was a rock to all of us, the center of a big beautiful family. He will be missed by all.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. on October 24, 2017, at the Presque Isle Congregational Church followed by a reception at the church. Online condolences may be expressed at www.duncan-graves.com.
