Joseph E. Higgins

Joseph E. Higgins, age 70, of Wayne passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 after a long battle with cancer.

Joe was born in Binghamton, NY  to Joseph and Margaret Higgins. He was raised in Little Falls, NJ, the oldest of four children. He attended DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, NJ.  Upon graduating with the class of 1970, Joe enrolled at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ where in 1974 he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting.

Following his graduation from St. Peter’s University, Joe worked as a Certified Public Accountant with the Arthur Young and Co. in Newark, NJ from 1974 until 1982.  Joe then continued his career as an accountant with Minwax, now part of Sherwin-Williams, where he worked until his retirement in 2014.  Joe also volunteered his accounting skills doing tax returns for senior citizens through AARP and heading the finance committee at Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church where he was a long-time parishioner. Upon retirement, Joe also went on to volunteer for Passaic County CASA, whose mission is to provide a voice for the children in the foster care system.

Joe met Janet Thoma in April of 1978 through work and five years later they married on August 20,1983. They settled in the Packanack Lake section of Wayne where they raised their two daughters, Elizabeth and Katherine.  Joe was an accomplished skier, an avid golfer and devoted to his Catholic faith, but his greatest passion was for his family.  Nothing in the world meant more to Joe than spending time with and providing for his children and, eventually, his grandchildren. He and his wife Janet cherished thirty-eight years of loving and loyal marriage together.  Joe was a quiet and private man, but he was well loved and recognized in his community and could always be found walking his dogs down by the lake.  Joe was a truly special person who touched the lives of many people.  He will be sincerely missed by everyone that knew him.  

Joe is survived by his wife Janet (Thoma) of Wayne, two daughters, Elizabeth Higgins and her husband Mathieu Vialle of Jersey City, NJ, and Katherine Dobrowski and her husband John of Duxbury, MA, his sister Mary Higgins of Florham Park, NJ, his brother John Higgins and his wife Suzanne of Parsippany, NJ, his sister Margaret Lovello and her husband Alan of Bridgewater, NJ, and two grandchildren, Jules Vialle and Henry Dobrowski.  He was predeceased by his parents Joseph and Margaret Higgins.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joseph’s name may be made to Eva’s Village, 393 Main St, Paterson, NJ 07501, http://www.evasvillage.org