Mary Frances Whaley Wiggins

Mary Frances Whaley Wiggins died on March 12, 2012, at St. Raphael’s Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. She was born November 4, 1924, to Taylor Whaley and Dorothy Sellers Whaley in Wakulla County, Florida, and attended Sopchoppy High School where she was a cheerleader, played basketball, and acted in school plays. On February 21, 1943, she married Marvin Lee Wiggins who preceded her in death. During World War II Mrs. Wiggins was a civilian employee at the Naval Air Station Miami repairing spark plugs for Naval aircraft. There she developed a more efficient refurbishing process that was adopted by the entire facility. Mrs. Wiggins was a bookkeeper and the office manager for the family business, Wiggins Construction Company, based in Albany, Georgia. A lifelong Baptist, Mrs. Wiggins was a charter member of Sunnyside Baptist Church in Albany where she served as church treasurer, taught Sunday School, and was active in the Woman’s Missionary Union. After retirement she was a member of the First Baptist Church of Sopchoppy and Lake Ellen Baptist Church of Medart, Florida. She was also a disaster relief volunteer with Campers on Mission. She enjoyed traveling throughout the United States, and was active in the Good Sam Club. Mrs. Wiggins is survived by her three sons and daughters-in-law: Dyrall Wiggins and Laura Coker Wiggins of Warner Robins, Georgia; David Wiggins and Carol Inlow Wiggins of Albany; and Timothy Lee Wiggins and Angela Shelley Wiggins of North Haven, Connecticut. She also is survived by grandchildren Jacob Wiggins and Melissa Hatfield Wiggins of Byron, Georgia; Kathleen Wiggins Fowler and Brad Fowler of Kathleen, Georgia; Andrew Wiggins of Gainesville, Florida; Sarah Wiggins Bailey and Bo Bailey of Macon Georgia; Jeff Wiggins and Kristi Kavanaugh Wiggins of Dawson, Georgia, and Colby Wiggins and Carmen Hall Wiggins of Leesburg, Georgia. She also is survived by nine great-grandchildren: Colby Fowler, Chance Fowler, Iron Wiggins, Legend Wiggins, Lydia Wiggins, Mason Wiggins, Elizabeth Doyle, Madison Doyle, and Chloe Wiggins, and by many devoted nieces and nephews, and numerous cousins. She was preceded in death by sisters Cornelia Whaley Harden and Nursie Whaley, and by brothers T.D. Whaley, Henry K. Whaley, Doris Whaley, Albert Whaley, Evans Whaley, William Whaley, and Frank Whaley. Funeral services will be held at Sopchoppy United Methodist Church on Monday, March 19, 2012, at 3:00 p.m., followed by burial at West Sopchoppy Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the church before the service, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Bevis Funeral Home, Harvey-Young Chapel, Crawfordville, FL is in charge of arrangements. (850-926-3333 or bevisfh.com) Memorial contributions may be made to the West Sopchoppy Cemetery Committee, P.O. Box 37, Sopchoppy, FL, 32358, or to Big Bend Hospice, 1723 Mahan Center Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL, 32308.

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Mary Frances Whaley Wiggins

November 4, 1924 - March 12, 2012