William Albert "Bill" Higley, 95, of Jacksonville passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, October 29, 2022.  Bill was born July 19, 1927 in Simsbury, Connecticut to the late Robert William and Nettie Sarah (Tetro) Higley. In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his great great-nephew, Nicholas Lee; niece, Janie Barnhart; his two sisters, Edna and Nettie; six brothers Robert, Earl, Henry, John, Harry (MIA/POW/Purple Heart) and Howard who was killed in action during the Korean Conflict.  He was also preceded in death by his foster parents Raymond & Isabelle "Mom Jewell" (Prentice) Jewell and last, but certainly not least, his beloved dog Trixie.

Bill served in the US Army during WW2 from October 28, 1945 to October 28, 1951.  He was a Tank Commander with the 12 ^th Tank Company, Det. 26 Infantry Division and the 1 ^st Infantry Platoon Division based in Germany. He met several important figures, famous people, and military leaders in his career including, but not limited to: General/President Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom he assisted in climbing onto his tank.

Bill was employed as a carpenter for over forty-five years until his retirement in 1989. While he may have retired from full time carpentry but you could still find him building swings, small tables an occasional deck or even helping out with framing or trimming a house here and there.  Bill loved to dance and was a whirlwind on the dance floor.  He was a Life Member of VFW Post 4548 in Jacksonville, and on most weekends, you could find him there dancing the night away.  Bill was a jokester and loved telling stories about things that happened to him or things he had done like shooting off his homemade cannon at midnight on New Year's; there was never a dull moment with him around.  He liked to watch baseball, football, boxing and Nascar, and in his younger days raced on the dirt track in his purple car known as the Flying 3.

Bill is survived by his niece, Peggy Grizzle of Cabot; his girlfriend of twenty-five years, Glenda Koser of Jacksonville; siblings, Charles Higley and Ruthie Higley-Pogslitsch, both of Connecticut; three great nieces, Kimberly (Jeff) Mitchell of Jacksonville, Tami (Clint) Skiver of Beebe, and Kristi (Adam) Moreno of Cabot; great nephew, Jason (Tammy) Cravens of Georgia; great-great niece, Amanda Lee; four great-great nephews, Justyn Cravens, Jonathan Cravens, Tyler Moreno and Cooper Skiver; plus numerous nieces and nephews in Connecticut.

The family would like to thank the Patriot Guard Riders for their support and assistance as pallbearers and Premier Health and Rehab in North Little Rock (especially his favorite nurse, Angel) for taking such great care of our Uncle Bill.

Funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, November 4, 2022 at Moore's Jacksonville Funeral Home. Family and friends are invited to attend a visitation the evening before, Thursday, November 3, 2022, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.