Robert "Bob" Lee Higginbotham of Magnolia, Texas born September 28, 1948 in Owosso, Michigan, passed away peacefully on October  9, 2018, at Kindred Hospital in Tomball,Texas.  He is preceded in death by his mother, Lena Louise Higginbotham; mother-in-law Bernice Ford and sister-in-law Darla Higginbotham.  Bob is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Sheila (Ford) Higginbotham; son Robert Mark Higginbotham of Magnolia, Texas; daughter Kara Beth Morgan and son-in-law Griffin Morgan of Houston, Texas; sisters Donna Jones of Robinson, Illinois and Janice Keller of Houston, Texas; brother Tony Higginbotham of Collinsville, Oklahoma; father-in-law Mark Ford, Jr. of Robinson, Illinois; brother and sister in-law Jerry and Jenny Ford of Robinson, Illinois; Uncle David and Aunt Jill Sanders of Apopka, Florida; and several cousins, nieces and nephews.

After graduating from Oblong High School in 1966, Bob served in the U.S. Army from 1968-1970.  After completing his Atomic Demolition Munitions Course, he was assigned to Karlsruhe, Germany.  He earned the National Defense Service Medal and was recognized for being a Sharpshooter M-14.

Bob married the love of his life, Sheila June Ford, on September 5, 1971 at Hardinville Christian Church in Crawford County, Illinois.  He worked for Pepsi Cola before going to school at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Illinois and completed the Associates Degree Drilling Specialist program in 1974.  Bob worked in the Oil and Gas industry for 25 years in Houston, Texas as a Drilling Technician Specialist for Cities Service, which later became Occidental Petroleum.  Later, he would go on to pursue a second career as a dedicated Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor.

He enjoyed gardening with his wife and especially loved his roses and day lilies.  Bob loved animals.  There was always a furry critter at his house and he especially loved his pup Dixie, who waited patiently for her dad in Heaven.  You could find Bob in Church almost every Sunday.  He also loved watching the Houston Astros play baseball.  He could fix and repair just about anything, whether he was repurposing or repairing something, he almost always found a way to make it work.  Bob liked reading, especially Westerns.

He will forever be cherished as an unconditionally loving husband and father.

He will be laid to rest at the Oblong Cemetery in Oblong, Illinois.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at First Baptist Church of Tomball (401 Oxford St., Tomball, Texas 77375) at 11am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that expressions of sympathy take form of contributions to the First Baptist Church of Tomball https://fbctomball.org/giving/ or Abandoned Animal Rescue of Montgomery County, Texas https://www.aartexas.org/get-involved/donate/ .