Hail to The Chief, Floyd Higgins.

The first salaried boss of the Orange Fire Department was also a real cowboy who did things his way.

Floyd was both firefighter and cowboy, having grown up on a cattle ranch in Cañon City, Colo. And he continued ranching until the very end, traveling to Colorado annually to run his herd of 100 Hereford cattle. It wasn't until he turned 80 that he handed his riding tack over to one of his daughters, who now has horses -- and cattle -- of her own.

In his last year of high school, his family moved to Orange. Floyd graduated from Orange High School in 1935, but loved his home town so much, he returned to Cañon City and graduated from high school there, too.

While there, he met his future wife, Marjorie Bell, on a blind date. He had to sell his quarter horse to buy her a wedding ring.

They were married in 1939 and came to Orange to live.Floyd and Herb Johnson, owner of the old Orange Hardware, built his house on West Palmyra.

In 1940, Floyd joined the Orange Police Department.

Every year, Floyd took the family to Colorado so he could herd and brand his cattle.

He was a big man and a huge presence, tall, strong with monstrous hands that could make or fix anything.

He was the seventh oldest son in a row in his family, which some believe gave him special power. Certainly, he had the power to keep his children in line.

They were to complete tasks begun, follow through on promises and get good grades. A's earned them $5; B's, $1; and C's, nothing. Any grade below a C and they owed HIM money.

When the girls went on dates, Floyd would stand behind the trunk of the front- yard tree awaiting their return. When the car pulled up, he shined a flashlight on the front seat, just to be sure there was no funny business going on. All the boyfriends knew about Floyd.

He was very hard to please.

And he slept with a gun under his pillow.

His personal indulgences were cowboy boots, of which he had at least 50 pairs in every animal skin you can imagine; cowboy shirts, which numbered around 300; and hats. Not just cowboy hats. All kinds of hats. Scores of them, neatly lined up in boxes.

Everything about Floyd was neat and orderly. If someone touched something on his bureau or desk, he knew it at a glance.

His meticulousness extended even to sports. Family vacations were often spent on the water, waterskiing and boating. Floyd could jump on a single water ski from the shore and cruise the lake, holding on with one hand, smoking a cigar (he called it his stogie) with the other, and not even get wet.

His other passion was community service. He was on countless boards, commissions, committees that sought to help the people of Orange and make it an even better place to live.

And, as he will tell you on his tombstone: "I did it my way."

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Obituary

Floyd D. Higgins, 84, of Orange, a retired fire chief, died July 2, 2002, of natural causes. Visitation: 4-8 p.m. Monday, Waverley Church, Santa Ana. Services: 9 a.m. Tuesday, First Presbyterian Church, Orange. Arrangements by Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary, Santa Ana.

Wife, Marjorie Higgins; daughters, Sharon Ferris; Shirley Melnikoff; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.

Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA)
Date: July 7, 2002
Edition: 1

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