Carlisle W. "Buck" Higgins, Jr., died on Saturday, August 18th, at Twin County Regional Hospital in Galax, Virginia. He was 89 years old.

Buck is survived by his wife, Virginia Rippetoe Currence "Ginny" Higgins; by his two daughters, Becky Dorshorst and Peggy Higgins-Rhodes; and by his two grandchildren, Margaret Vaughan Hilborne and Charles Carlisle Higgins Rhodes. He was preceded in death by his parents, Carlisle Wallace Higgins and Myrtle Bryant Higgins of Sparta, North Carolina; his sister, Mary Cecil Bridges of Greensboro, North Carolina; and his first wife, Margaret Vaughan "Margo" Higgins of Galax, Virginia.

Buck Higgins was born on January 27th, 1918, in Sparta, North Carolina, to Myrtle Bryant and Carlisle Wallace Higgins. Buck graduated in 1935 from Oak Ridge Military Institute in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1939. He remained an avid and loyal Tar Heel fan for the next 68 years.

In 1939, he married Margaret Eloise "Margo" Vaughan of Galax. They had two daughters, Rebecca "Becky" Dorshorst, who now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her husband Stephen; and Mary Margaret "Peggy" Higgins-Rhodes, who now lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband Bill.

Margo Higgins passed away in 1971. He married Virginia "Ginny" Rippetoe Currence of Charleston, West Virginia, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 1973. They shared 34 happy years together in Galax.

Buck began working for Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Company, based in Galax, in September of 1939. His first job involved training in Johnson City, Tennessee before returning to the headquarters in Galax. He served as Vaughan-Bassett's President and CEO from 1963 until 1985. He served as Vaughan-Bassett's Chairman of the Board until 2007.

Buck truly loved coming to work. He worked at Vaughan-Bassett for 68 years and came to work every workday, health permitting, through this year. He holds the record as Vaughan-Bassett's longest serving employee in the company's 88-year history.

During World War II, Buck served as a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After receiving flight training in Phoenix, he was stationed as a pilot in Australia, Burma and the Phillipines during World War II.

Buck Higgins loved his community and supported many community organizations throughout his life. He was a long-time member of the First Baptist Church of Galax. He served for many years on the Galax Public Schools Board. He was on the founding board of the Twin Counties Regional Hospital. More recently, he served on the Board of Directors of the Wytheville Community College Educational Foundation, and received and honorary degree from the school in 2005.

The family will receive visitors Sunday evening from 6 pm until 8 pm at the funeral home.
The funeral will be held at the First Baptist Church of Galax on Monday, August 20th at 2:00 PM. Interment will follow in the Felts Memorial Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that friends consider making a donation to the Wytheville Community College Educational Foundation in his honor.