Elsie Laura Higgins

Elsie Laura Higgins, age 89, of Savanna, Illinois, died Sunday, April 12, 2009 at Mercy Medical Center South Campus, Clinton, Iowa. A Funeral Mass will be held 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Savanna. Burial will be in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery, Savanna. Visitation will be held from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Tuesday at the Church, prior to the Mass. Memorials may be given in Elsie’s name for St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
Elsie was born July 17, 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Giacomo and Bartaloma (Celfo) Distefano. She was baptized July 19, 1919 at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, Chicago. Elsie is a graduate of Harper High School, Chicago, and then attended the Northwestern Secretarial Institute, Chicago. On December 7, 1946, Elsie married Ralph Arthur Higgins at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, Chicago.
Elsie and Ralph moved to Savanna in 1965 to own and operate Johnson’s Drugstore, where she worked as a licensed Pharmacy Technician. They retired in 1993. Elsie was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Savanna, where she was very active. Elsie taught the 1st Grade Holy Eucharist Class for over twenty years. She also helped deliver meals on wheels and worked with the Savanna Thrift Store for many years. More than anything, she enjoyed being a grandmother, always enjoying the grandkids many visits to Savanna.
Elsie will be dearly missed by her husband, Ralph of Savanna; her son, Bryan Higgins and his wife, Mary Warren, of Burlington, Vermont; her daughter, Gail Ann Higgins of Anna, Texas; five grandchildren, Adam, Grace and Travis Higgins, and Andrea and Adrienne Butcher; two sisters, Agnes Swierczek of California and Mildred Konrath of Chicago; and a special niece, Kelly Higgins-Magana, who helped Elsie and Ralph with many of life’s challenges in their older years. Elsie is preceded in death by both parents, four sisters and two brothers.