Higgins, Forrest Cleveland Jr. – The family of Forrest Cleveland Higgins Jr. (“Brud” or “Bruddy” to many) is saddened to announce his sudden passing on September 18, 2026 in Nova Scotia at the age of 72. He will be dearly missed.
Forrest grew up in Holliston, MA and graduated from Holliston High School in 1972. He then attended Mount Allison University and Suffolk University Law School, developing an interest in law and real estate which led him to obtain his broker’s license. From a young age, he travelled back and forth to Nova Scotia where his parents had grown up.
He was a smart and ambitious man, and gifted in business – whether it be mowing lawns as a teenager or selling Christmas trees. In many ways, he was a natural-born salesman. With his father, he started growing and harvesting balsam fir Christmas trees in Nova Scotia and sold them in Massachusetts and later across the Eastern United States. In collaboration with other family members (Kathy, Sally, Gerry, and others), he owned and operated Higgins Family Christmas Trees for over 40 years. From its humble beginnings in the Mammoth Mart parking lot in Ashland to one of the largest Christmas tree wholesaler-retailers in New England, he and his family developed a loyal customer base who enjoyed the tradition of a Higgins family Christmas tree.
In 1978, he started living in Nova Scotia full time, and in 1982, he married Kathryn Woolaver with whom he raised their three children, Cleve, Elizabeth, and Frank in Elmsvale. He was known to be eternally optimistic and always believed anything could be accomplished, and that things would turn out okay. For many years he was an active member of the St. James United Church in Upper Musquodoboit. He was also very involved in the Christmas tree industry in the US, spearheading the creation of the industry-wide Real Christmas Tree promotion board.
He enjoyed talking on the phone with friends, colleagues, and family, and was always writing in his notebooks to draft letters and keep track of everything. In the off months of the late winter, he would drive for days at a time to vacation with family in Florida, or meet up with business friends all over the country.
He valued spending time in the beautiful places in Nova Scotia where he decided to make his life, such as camping and fishing at Camp Concord on Long Lake, or having lunch overlooking the ocean on the big rock on Sober Island. He inherited from his father both ownership of land, and a reluctance to sell that land. He would often say that Forrest Sr. hadn’t sold the land, so he wasn’t going to either.
In his later years, he lived in Indian Brook, Nova Scotia, with the family of his son, Giles. He spoke often of how proud he was of his children, and always wanted them to know that he loved them. He was a supportive father who will be remembered fondly and missed.
He was predeceased by parents, Forrest Higgins Sr. and Kathleen (Reid) Higgins and leaves behind his sisters, Susie, Sally, and Sandy; and children, Cleve, Elizabeth, Frank, and Giles.
The family will hold a private service in his memory and he will be buried in Riverside Cemetery, Elmsvale.
A message of condolence for the family may be left by posting your comment as a guest in the area below.
