"My teacher told me.....

......the best way to preserve something was to smoke it or pickle it......I've done both".

This is a quote from one of my Dad's close friends who unexpectedly passed away this week. John....or Wiggins as we called him was one of my favorites among my grocery business "Uncles". As Dad said on Thursday night....Wiggins lived life to the fullest and we were all just lucky enough to get to watch it. Wiggins and Peggy had a house at the beach just a couple of blocks from Dad's place. Every time I was down there you could tell that Wiggins had come to check on the place, that's just the kind of guy he was. He had either pulled in the patio furniture from a storm, let a repair man in, or drank all of the vodka. For girls trips to the beach, he'd call and check in on us and offer to join us in our festivities....now I wish he had.

I have 2 favorite memories of Wiggins. One is him making country ham biscuits at every MDI food show. He was ALWAYS there, and I can picture every detail in my mind. Who's going to make them now? The other one is from several years ago. We were at the beach with Luther and Libby and went to Wiggins for dinner. He had been out floundering and was frying it outside......when the regulator came off. There were flames shooting everywhere.....it still makes me laugh (after the fact anyway). He just reached over and turned it off....crisis averted.

Tomorrow will be a sad day, but Wiggins would not want us to be sad. He'd want us sitting around enjoying each other's company with some adult beverages. Going to the beach just won't be the same.

If he was here today I'd thank him for everything. I'm just glad I was lucky enough to know him. If this teaches us anything, it's to live life to the fullest....Wiggins sure did.

Here's the obituary from the Charlotte Observer:
John D. Wiggins MONROE -- Mr. Wiggins, 71, went to be with his Heavenly Father on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at Carolinas Medical Center-Union surrounded by his loving family. John was born December 1, 1935 in Bryson City, NC to Dee and Rosalie Wiggins, he Was a Korean War veteran and a food broker. Funeral services to celebrate the life of John will be 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 30, 2007 at Benton Heights Presbyterian Church, with his pastor, The Rev. Paul Saleeby and friend, Rev. Britt Hadley officiating, entombment will follow in Lakeland Memorial Mausoleum. Survivors include his wife, Peggy McManus Wiggins of the home, daughters, Bobbi Harter and husband, Gary, of Simpsonville SC, Jill Fagala and husband John of Monroe, NC; son, Tony Traywick and fiancee, Vickie Goddard of Fort Mill, SC; six grandchildren; sisters, Pat Lundsford, Marsha Croft, both of Gastonia, NC; brother, Bill Wiggins of Dyersburg, TN. In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorials be made to Benton Heights Presbyterian Church Building Fund, 2701 Concord Hwy., Monroe, NC 28110 or to Camp Debbie Lou, a camp for terminally ill children, PO Box 3967, Hickory, NC 28603. The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 PM Friday at the McEwen Funeral and Cremation Service of Monroe.