Judy Higbea was a woman who left her mark all around Freeport.
“Judy’s impact on Freeport and beyond is immeasurable,” said Tom Whelan, board president of Wolfe’s Neck Farm and a close family friend.
Higbea died unexpectedly July 12 at the age of 72, just hours after taking part in an event at one of her great loves, Wolfe’s Neck Farm.
Higbea was a teacher and principal in Freeport schools, board president at Freeport Community Services and board member of Wolfe’s Neck Farm. She taught at both Morse Street School and Mast Landing School, where she became a teaching principal. She retired from teaching in 2006 following 41 years in education.
A celebration of Higbea’s life is set for Saturday, Aug. 29, at 3 p.m., at the Mallett Barn at Wolfe’s Neck Farm, with a reception to follow.
The news of Higbea’s death spread quickly after Whelan notified board members via email. Sam Smith, another board member, put the news out to the general public on the afternoon of July 14, on the Facebook page “Wolfe’s Neck Notes: News of the Neck & Flying Point.” The posting drew many comments from people who knew and loved Higbea.
“Judy was truly a gift to this community, her students, her colleagues, and especially to all those that she interacted with. She is truly a person who has made this world a better place,” wrote Kimberly Ludwig Burke.
Higbea had taken part in the History Haywagon Tour on July 12, and went home that night. She was found early Monday evening by police.
“Judy died peacefully in her sleep on Sunday evening,” Whelan wrote to Wolfe’s Neck Farm board members. “I write this with blurry, teary, eyes not believing I’m having to send this email. The stories about what she has done for so many are just starting, and will sustain us for the difficult days and weeks to come.”
Whelan’s wife, Jude, choked up as she spoke about Higbea’s relationship with her family.
“She was a huge part of our family,” she said. “We were one of the families that benefited from her role as a surrogate mother and a grandmother.”
Higbea attended the Whelan family’s games, made cookies and sewed for them, as she did for other families.
“I feel that our family had the greatest gift by her choosing us as one of the families she got close to,” Jude Whelan said.
Whelan was a young teacher when Higbea was a teaching principal at Mast Landing School.
“She was an inspiration as a leader,” Whelan said.
Higbea was on the Freeport Community Services board for many years until 2012, serving as president from 2009-2010. She continued to serve as a volunteer for the organization.
“This is an enormous loss for everyone in the FCS family and the greater Freeport community,” said Melanie Sachs, executive director of the organization. “Judy was a remarkable woman who provided leadership through her enormous wisdom, humor and grace. She joined Freeport Community Services as we marched in the Fourth of July parade just a few days ago, coming in as the parade was just about to begin because she said she had ‘stopped to talk to so many people on the way,’ which was so very telling. She was beloved by many in our community, and will be greatly missed by me and the many others whom she mentored and connected with.”
She moved to Yarmouth in 1987 to teach in the school system in Freeport.
“Two organizations that benefited from Judy’s energy and wisdom were Freeport Community Services and Wolfe’s Neck Farm,” Whelan said. “She was ever-present at both places and volunteered literally hundreds of hours at each organization furthering their mission and improving her community. Her ability to connect people to her community and to these organizations is unparalleled.”
She served on the Executive Committee and as secretary of the Wolfe’s Neck Farm board for the past seven years.
“Both of these organizations are changed forever because of Judy,” Whelan said. “Judy showed patience and humor at the right moments. She gave sage advice as a gifted and passionate teacher in and out of the classroom. She was constantly excited about life and all of the possibilities in front of her. She had enormous capacity for deep and lasting friendship and was beloved by her many devoted friends and by their children and grandchildren.”
Gene Berg of Westbrook was one of the three teaching principals when Higbea served in that capacity at Mast Landing School. Berg said that Higbea trusted her co-workers and her students, which worked out for the best.
“I retired 10 years ago, and I usually sent her a joke birthday card,” Berg said. “We still got together once in a while. This year, I sent her a blank card with a note inside that said, ‘Anyone who encountered you was the better for it,’ and this is absolutely the truth.”
Higbea is survived by brothers Dave and his wife Linda of Nebraska, Jim and his wife Jan of Illinois, two nieces and nephews.
She grew up on a farm in Defiance, Ohio, and obtained her undergraduate degree in elementary education at Ohio State University. She taught school in Colorado and in the Boston area prior to moving to Maine.
“Even though she retired in 2006, I know she did a lot of substitute teaching,” Dave Higbea told the Tri-Town Weekly.
He said he had been looking forward to visiting Wolfe’s Neck Farm with his sister.
“We grew up on a farm,” he said. “She was active at Wolfe’s Neck Farm – she was keeping me in the loop regarding their organic dairy. I was getting excited to go visit.”
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