Parker Blake Higdon, Jr

Blake Higdon, loving husband, father and grandfather, went to be with the Lord, August 9, 2022, at the age of 89. He was born in Yazoo City, MS on May 21, 1933 to Parker B and Dolores Armitage Higdon and reminisced fondly of his Delta upbringing.

He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1955 with a BBA in Business, a member of
the Kappa Alpha order. Before graduation, he met and "married the most beautiful girl in the
world", Zay Spruill of Belzoni. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant
in the United States Air Force. His service took his new family across Europe before completing active duty in 1958 as Second Lieutenant, USAF.

Blake enjoyed a career that spanned 30 years for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) There he served as a Contracting Officer, Contract Specialist and
worked in the Gemini, Apollo Skylab and Shuttle programs at NASA Marshall Flight Center in
Huntsville, AL and Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. He earned numerous awards for his services to the Apollo program (Man on the Moon Project) and as both a member of the Skylab Team and Lunar Surface Experience Team. Blake earned his Certification as a Certified
Professional Contracts Manager in 1976. Blake retired from the NASA Stennis Space Center in
1988 after those 30 years of service and after raising his family there in the suburb of
Friendswood, TX. He retired back home to Mississippi where he was employed by Beech
Aerospace and as the Director of Delta Regional Procurement Center.

Proud of his accomplishments with the space program, Blake often shared interesting stories of his days at NASA, much to the delight of his family and friends. With interesting experiences and a life well lived, Blake was a great story teller. He was a proud supporter of Ole Miss athletics and an avid baseball fan. Blake enjoyed watching baseball and taking sports with his sons and grandson, and anyone else who would listen. His stories also included many tales of his childrens' and grandchildrens' accomplishments. Even with his own storied career, his proudest accomplishment was his family.

Blake is survived by his loving wife of almost 70 years, Zay Spruill Higdon; 3 sons, Parker B
Higdon, III of Canyon Lake, TX, Phillip (Cristy) Higdon of Madison, MS and Mark (Angele)
Higdon of Bremen, AL; 5 grandchildren Jessica Higdon, Emily (Taylor) Dye, Cameron (Whitney) Higdon, Elizabeth Zay Higdon and Christina Fay (Ben) Jack; and 2 great grandchildren, Brooksie Mae Sammons and Spence Michael Dye. He was loved by all and will be greatly missed.

He was a member of Madison United Methodist Church in Madison, MS and asks that in lieu of flowers donations may be made to the American Heart Association, Hospice Ministries,
Ridgeland, MS or the Madison United Methodist Church Madison, MS.
Blake will be laid to rest with military honors on Saturday, August 13, 2022 at 2:00 pm with a
graveside service at the Belzoni City Cemetery; under the direction of Mortimer Funeral Home.