**William Matthew Higgins**, 56, of Parsippany, New Jersey, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on April 24, 2025, after being found unresponsive by a close friend and later pronounced dead at St. Clare’s Hospital in Morristown. His death was due to complications from COVID-19 and heart disease.

Born on April 1, 1969, in Lake Hiawatha, William was a lifelong resident of the Parsippany area and a steady presence in his community. He worked for over 40 years at the same neighborhood grocery location — first at *Grand Union*, and later at *Foodtown* in Lake Hiawatha — where his reliability, work ethic, and quiet kindness became familiar to countless coworkers and customers.

William was a proud and dedicated member of the *United Food & Commercial Workers Union*, beginning with Local 1262 and later joining Local 464A (Meat Cutters Division). His decades of service and loyalty earned the respect of those around him, not through loud declarations, but through quiet consistency and care.

He was preceded in death by his parents, *Ingeborg Gisela Wolf-Higgins* (1939–2020) and *Donald O. Higgins* (1934–1994); his grandmother *Hermine Hula-Wolf-Rose* (1908–2003); his aunts *Lorraine Higgins-DeVoe* (1933–2019) and *Lois Higgins-Poignée* (~1936–2014); and his cousin *Lillian Hula-Swinburne* (1927–2009).

Though William never married, he built a deep web of enduring relationships through friendship and trust. He is survived by his brother, *Michael W. Higgins*, who currently lives in The Woodlands, Texas (age 62), as well as many close friends and coworkers, **including among others** *The Laracca Family, Sharon Shepherd, Ahmet Akcabay, Jennifer Fields, and Christopher Mills* — all of whom regarded him as family in every meaningful sense.

William was the last of the Higgins family to remain in New Jersey, where they had long made their home. He grew up at 29 Elliott Road in Parsippany, a house filled with the generations that came before him. His brother, Michael, moved away following their parents’ retirement and later lived abroad before settling in Texas.

A private interment will take place at *Greenlawn Memorial Park* in Wilmington, North Carolina, where William will be laid to rest alongside his father *Donald*, his mother *Ingeborg*, and his grandmother *Hermine*. A separate memorial gathering is being planned by his coworkers in Lake Hiawatha, where his memory continues to live on in the hearts of those he worked beside.

Those who wish to honor William’s life are invited to carry forward his quiet integrity, or to make a contribution to the *American Heart Association* in his name. The family also encourages others to help protect their communities by staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations — a gesture that honors the lives of both William and his mother, Ingeborg.

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