The Shadow
Jean Ann Higgins Manner
Jean Ann Higgins Manner, age 95 of Clifton Forge, died peacefully on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Jean Ann was born June 15, 1928, in Clifton Forge, Virginia, the daughter of William and Martha Higgins. She graduated from Madison College with a degree in Business Education and was a proud member of the alumni’s Blue Stone Society. Jean Ann began her teaching career in Louisa, VA, while also coaching softball, and continued teaching high school business education in Chesapeake City, Maryland; Coral Gables, Florida; Akron, Ohio; and Clifton Forge, Virginia. She taught at Clifton Forge High School until taking a brief time away from teaching when her children were young. Jean Ann returned to teaching as an original faculty member of Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, serving as an Associate Professor of the Secretarial Science program. She then completed her career teaching Business Education at Alleghany High School and retired in 1987. During retirement, she and her husband, Jack, enjoyed traveling abroad and to her granddaughters’ many activities. Tailgating at Virginia Tech and cheering on the Hokies were favorite pastimes. Jean Ann was an active member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, serving as a member of the Parish Council and Head of the Cemetery Committee. She was a member of the profession organization Delta Kappa Gamma and the Alleghany Retired Teachers Association. The Virginia Tech Hokie Club, the Clifton Forge Women’s Club and the Cowpasture River Preservation Association were organizations where she was an active volunteer. Her happiest times were at her camps on the Cowpasture River. Starting at 6 weeks old, she spent every summer enjoying the beauty and bond of family and friends that the river offered. Jean Ann had a great love for her many friends, especially Julia Bradley, Jean Clift, Josephine Dellinger, Lillian McLain, Libby Grimm, and Davey Perry. Jean Ann met her husband Jack Manner, Jr. at the Clifton Forge Christmas dance and enjoyed over 50 wonderful years of marriage before he preceded her in death. She is survived by her daughter Martha Ann Manner-Brown and husband, Dennis, of Fredericksburg; her son, John Morrison Manner, III and wife, Meryl, of Oak Hill, Virginia; 3 granddaughters, Catherine Manner Roland and her husband Austin, of Cary, North Carolina; Elizabeth Morrison Manner, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Anne Marie Manner, of Washington, DC; step-grandson Michael Jason Brown and wife Julie, of Rustburg, Virginia, and step great-granddaughter Abigail Grace Brown; nieces and nephews, Christie Roth Weddington and husband, Tony, of Mauldin, South Carolina, John Roth and wife, Sarah, of Aiken, South Carolina, JoAnna Roth Hare and husband, Frank, of Belmont, North Carolina, Susan Roth, of Signal Mountain, Tennessee; Marshall Higgins and wife, Jane, of Richmond, Virginia, and Bonnie Carpenter and husband, Tim, of Huntington, West Virginia; and a cousin, Craig Hudson of Clifton Forge, Virginia. She was preceded in death by her brother Thomas Higgins and sister-in-law Marguerite and brother Paul Higgins, and sister-in-law Joan Higgins, niece Margi H. Gasiorowski, and nephew Andrew Roth. The family wishes to express a special thanks to her caregiver and friend, Grace Kyeraa.
Visitation will be Sunday, August 27, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Nicely Funeral Home in Clifton Forge with a Christian Wake Service to be recited at 6:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday at 11:00 a.m. from St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Clifton Forge with Reverend Augustine Lukenge as Celebrant. Interment will follow at Mountain View Cemetery, Clifton Forge. Pallbearers will be Austin Roland, Craig Hudson, Dale Perry, David Higgins, Adam Kenny, Marshall Higgins, and Buddy Buchanan. The family suggests memorial tributes take the form of contributions to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 620 Jefferson Ave., Clifton Forge 24422 or to the Cowpasture River Preservation Association, P.O. Box 215 Millboro, VA 24460.
To send condolences to the family online, please visit www.nicelyfuneralhome.com
