Charles (Chuck) Wendell Higdon, Jr.

On November 17, 2025, the world lost the kindest of men, Charles (Chuck) Wendell Higdon, Jr., (77), who was born December 2, 1947, in St. Louis, Missouri to Charles Wendell and Narva Hilda (Crites) Higdon. He often reminisced about his fun-filled childhood, which he credited to his amazing parents.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Sylvia Maxine Alford and two sons, Joseph Matthias and Matthew Michael Higdon.

Chuck is survived and missed by his sons, Charles Wendell Higdon, III spouse Mara and their children Charles Wendell Higdon, IV, Penelope, Walter and Henry of Pacifica, California, and Jonathan Nathaniel Higdon of Marshfield, Missouri; twin daughters Jennifer Ann Higdon of Springfield, Missouri and Erika Sabina Higdon spouse Jason Bressler of Springfield, Missouri. Chuck is also survived by his loving wife, best friend, and High School sweetheart Ann Elizabeth (nee Essock) Higdon and her sons Adam Lee Weir spouse Kori of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and C. Paul Weir spouse Donna of San Clemente, California, loving nieces, nephews, cousins and special friends.

Chuck attended schools in Alva, Oklahoma and Ferguson, Missouri. After graduating in 1966 from McCluer High School in Ferguson, Chuck attended Southwest Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

During Chuck’s career he owned a machine shop and was an owner/operator semi-truck driver for over 30 years. His many trips across the country left him with endless stories of the towns and people in them, which he was quick to relate to anyone with the patience to listen to his methodical style.

Chuck was a huge sports fan, his favorite teams being the St. Louis Cardinals and the Alabama Crimson Tide. He also was an avid NASCAR racing fan and made several trips over the years to hear the engines roar on the backstretch in person. His dreams of racing 4-wide at Talladega became brief reality when taking part in the racing experience there with his children. As he would describe it later, he blew past them at nearly 200mph, "as if they were tied to a stump."

Chuck lived with a quiet, stoic demeanor, but he was always up for an adventure. In his youth you could find him camping in the Ozark hills at Johnson's Shut-Ins with his high school buddies. There were countless days spent with his children nurturing their love of the outdoors, camping and canoeing along the ice-cold spring-fed Missouri streams during the heat of the summer. In his retirement, Chuck greatly enjoyed living with Ann on their country acreage in Strafford, Missouri, especially riding 4-wheelers with his grandchildren. When he was 65, he very proudly became a stock car race driver for several seasons. Even as the years were catching up with him, the adventurous spirit remained; zip-lining across the Royal Gorge and white-water rafting in Colorado, camping in Yosemite, and touring the countryside on his Spyder.

Please send any memorials to a charity of your choosing in Chuck's name. As per Chuck's wishes, there will not be a public funeral. Instead, he encourages you to gather with a few friends at your convenience, throw on some Traveling Wilburys, crack open a cold Diet Mountain Dew, and reminisce about the good times. Roll Tide.

Permanent online condolences, stories and photos may be shared at www.hhlohmeyer.com