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Harvey E. Wiggins
08/17/2023
On Thursday, August 17, 2023, Harvey E. Wiggins, 76, crossed over death to life eternal with his lord and savior. His wife of fifty-six years, Shirley, remained lovingly by his side until he bid her his final farewell. With his passing, Harvey requested that all those he loved and left behind to reflect upon his favorite passage Philippians 4:13 and remember that you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you.
The Lord blessed his three children, Christine, Sebrina, and David, with a loving father devoted to filling their lives with love, faith, and happiness. Harvey aspired to give them more than he had as a child and he could not have done a better job for he was a father truly worthy of their love and respect. Family vacations and holidays which brought the family together under the same roof always filled Harvey with pride and joy as the laughter of “friendly” board game rivalries and good-natured teasing went on for hours. A connoisseur of all things baked and barbecued, Harvey happily blessed every home cooked feast.
Born in Moultrie, Georgia to Ethel and Bellman Wiggins, Harvey was the seventh of eight children. He is survived by his two sisters, Donita and Faye, and was predeceased by his parents and five brothers, Dennis, Donald, Ronald, Fondern, and Connie. Even though he moved to Florida as a child, Harvey often spoke about returning to Georgia to be a farmer despite his less than successful attempts at backyard gardening. In hindsight, it was most likely Harvey’s love of teasing and aggravating Shirley who adamantly declared throughout their marriage a dislike of dirt especially dirt located in South Georgia.
Harvey graduated from Mainland in 1965 where his greatest achievement was winning the heart of Shirley. After high school, Harvey completed technical school which led to his working for General Electric as an electrical technician for components used in the Apollo space program. After a brief stint as a firefighter, Harvey transferred to the Ormond Beach Police Department. During his over twenty-year career, Harvey served as a patrolman, a motorman, PBA union representative, and retired as a sergeant. Whenever he felt a need to “do something,” Harvey took on several “retirement jobs” as a courier for the State Attorneys’ office, a dispatcher for the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety, and as a driver for several different transportation companies.
Harvey’s greatest joy in retirement was travelling with Shirley in their beloved “WEE2” RV. Together they embarked on a nationwide RV adventure crisscrossing the United States traveling the backroads and discovering new places together. Harvey’s favorite was the Great Smokey Mountains. Shirley and he would return year after year especially in October to celebrate their wedding anniversaries amid the fantastic fall foliage. Harvey found peace and happiness in the beauty of those blue mountains cloaked in mist.
Harvey enjoyed beekeeping having well over 100 hives at the peak of his honey-making hobby. He founded his family business, the W5 Honey Company. With the help of his family, he maintained the hives, harvested the honey, and sold it at the flea market. Harvey loved sharing a jar of his honey with friends and family almost as much as he enjoyed eating it every morning in his coffee or on his toast.
Harvey loved serving the Lord. He was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach for more than 40 years. Harvey served as a deacon and always was willing to volunteer his time to help wherever he could. He volunteered as a driver to bring members with special needs to church services, to prepare and distribute meals to home bound members, to help maintain the lawn and landscaping for the church grounds, to lend a hand to the handyman ministry to repair member’s homes and appeared as a Wiseman in the Church’s Christmas productions. Harvey served as the Director of the Senior Adult Sunday School Department and on the Church Counting Committee. Harvey shared his love of the Lord by participating in mission trips to Africa.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in Harvey’s memory to the Continuing Our Legacy Building Fund, First Baptist of Daytona Beach, 10 First Baptist Parkway, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114.
A celebration of life for Harvey Wiggins will be held at the First Baptist Church on Saturday, September 2, 2023, beginning at 1:00 PM with a reception to follow in the Church Atrium.