James J. Higgins Sr., firefigh

James J. Higgins Sr., longtime president of Bricklayers Local 45, died Sunday in his Buffalo home after a long illness. He was 83.

A native of South Buffalo and one of nine children, Higgins graduated from South Park High School, where he participated in track and field and other sports. He received an athletic scholarship to Michigan State University.

He set the All-High School men's cross-country race record in Delaware Park and was thrilled to watch his granddaughter set Designer Shoes the All-Catholic women's race record on the same course 60 years later.

wholesale lingerie Mr. Higgins left college early, enlisting in the Army and serving in Japan during World War II. He returned to Buffalo, where he studied labor relations at Canisius College.

Mr. Higgins pursued two full-time careers -- as a city firefighter for more than 20 years and as a union bricklayer for more than 50 years. He served for many years as president of Bricklayers Local 45, as well as a pension trustee.

He was honored for bravery by the Buffalo Fire Department and received his 50-year pin from the bricklayers union.

He was a devout Catholic and a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, the former Dorothy Ann Duggan; five sons, James Jr., Kevin, Sean, Michael and Terrence; and two daughters, Kathleen Greeley and Sheila Tenney.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Thursday in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 450 Fake Bedat & CO Watches Abbott Road.

[H/DAVIS]

Replica Watches
Replica Watches