Barbara Randle Higgins

After a sudden illness, Barbara Randle Higgins, “Mimi” to her beloved family, passed peacefully from this life on December 3, 2025, with her loving and devoted husband, Peter, by her side, just as he has been throughout their thirty-two years of marriage.

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi on March 10, 1955, Barbara moved several times as a child with her parents, Mrs. Helen Randle and the late Colonel Keylon C. Randle, U.S. Army (Retired), her sisters, Brenda and Elizabeth (Beth), and her brother, James Ray, due to Keylon’s military service. While Mississippi was always home, Barbara also spent parts of her childhood and teen years in South Carolina and Virginia. In 1973, Barbara graduated from Meridian High School, where she was a member of the Dusty Social Service Club, active in the marching band as both a majorette and flutist, and voted Most Charming in her class – a title that was appropriate for Barbara all her life.

After high school, Barbara initially intended to pursue a career in elementary education but found her true calling when a friend convinced her to take a nursing class at Meridian Community College, where she obtained her Associate Degree in Nursing in 1982 as the first step in her forty-year nursing career. As a dedicated and conscientious healthcare provider, Barbara turned her passion for caring for others into a fulfilling lifelong profession. She went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Mississippi University for Women in 1990 and a Master of Science in Nursing degree from The University of Southern Mississippi in 1998. Barbara also earned her board certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 1998, just five years after Mississippi first authorized advanced practice nursing. Obtaining her FNP-BC credential was one of Barbara’s proudest and most bittersweet accomplishments, as she sat for her national certification exam only one day after the unexpected passing of her father. Barbara’s grace and perseverance under extreme pressure were hallmarks of how she guided her patients, family, and friends through their own challenges and made her a trusted mentor, caretaker, and friend.

Prior to her retirement in January 2022, Barbara cared for many during her more than fifteen years at Diamondhead Family Medicine in Diamondhead, Mississippi, where she was widely known as an exceptionally attentive and caring provider. Barbara took calls from patients at any hour, and her status as everyone’s favorite healthcare provider made her something of a local celebrity. She never rushed any patient and, although it gave both the office scheduling staff and her husband fits, Barbara readily disregarded any planned schedule to ensure each individual received the highest level of compassionate care, whether in the exam room or the local Rouses Supermarket, where she frequently was stopped by patients who wanted to catch up. Just as she did in her office, she took all the time they needed, sometimes to the chagrin of her hungry family waiting at home. Barbara worked to instill this commitment to excellence in the broader healthcare system through her role as a mentor and preceptor for nurse practitioner candidates and was recognized for her efforts by Memorial Health System in 2015, when she was celebrated as a STAR provider due to her advocacy for patients, willingness to help in any situation, and view of all patients and staff as individuals with their own unique needs.

Barbara’s level of care and love for her patients was surpassed only by the level of love and care she gave to her family, including her daughter Brandy, sons Neil and Tim, stepson Mitch, and grandchildren Zoe, Kirby, Noelle, Anna Caroline, and Gracie Reid. From the Kiln to Tupelo to Pensacola, Florida, “Mimi” drove countless hours, without complaint, to cheer her grandchildren on in plays, recitals, and athletic events, to snuggle and offer popsicles and cartoons when tonsils needed to be removed, and to make sure the toy bins and ice cream supplies never fell below acceptable standards. She almost always came bearing at least two loaves of her famous homemade bread, just one tangible reminder of her deeply felt love, and never showed up anywhere empty-handed. To the delight of her granddaughters, she would walk through the door, shopping bags in hand, telling them, “I saw this and thought of you.” Barbara was always thinking of someone and never missed an opportunity to show she cared. Her penchant for allowing cake or ice cream, and often both, for breakfast and blatantly ignoring bedtimes thrilled her granddaughters and were just some of the many things that made her the best Mimi a child could ask for.

Barbara’s pride and affection for her children bubbled at the surface of almost every conversation, and she took care to welcome their spouses and extended families into her big tent, expanding the love of her family to cover them all. She was a mother who loved each of her children deeply and in ways they most needed. She trusted and respected Brandy, who followed in her mother’s footsteps as both a nurse and linchpin of the family, maybe more than anyone in the world, was Neil’s biggest cheerleader, even during the years when he steadfastly resisted her advice to follow his own passion into coaching, was Tim’s greatest encourager, believing, correctly, in his inevitable success from the culinary world to public and private accounting, and supported and loved Mitch with tenacity and devotion. She was a mother figure to many, including especially her son-in-law, Jason, her daughters-in-law, April and Blythe, and all her beloved nieces and nephews. Through the years, Barbara cared for her adored mother-in-law, her own mother, and many other family members with not only the expert knowledge of a nurse practitioner, but also the love only she could give – even if that sometimes came in the form of strict orders. When Peter needed treatment at MD Anderson, Barbara deployed all her resources to ensure he received the best care and that he followed every instruction to the letter. She pulled no punches for family and was always their toughest, best nurse.

Barbara was the life of every party and never met a stranger. She and Peter had many friends in the community and spent their last weekend together dancing and socializing. A consummate and ever stylish hostess, Barbara loved inviting friends and family into her home, and dinner at Barbara’s often felt like walking into a Williams Sonoma ad – where there was always an impeccable tablescape, delicious food, great wine, jazz music chosen by Peter playing in the background and, most memorably, an abundance of laughter. That is, of course, if you were dining in her home outside of football season when the sounds of jazz were replaced with ESPN score updates and maybe more than a little yelling for her favorite teams. An excellent cook, Barbara’s pork loin, meat loaf, candied apples, and campfire rolls were legendary, even if she never shook her regrettable preference for well-done steaks. At Christmas, Barbara stacked mountains of presents under the tree, each carefully selected and wrapped just in time. She never denied her grandchildren a gift, even when the request seemed impossible, such as the time she produced a one-of-a-kind “Elsa Mermaid” doll, a toy Disney definitely never made, to the delight of her granddaughter. Barbara never let things like that stop her from delivering for her family and making those she loved feel special.

Barbara and Peter loved to travel, although most of her stories began with the words, “We were running through the airport to make our flight . . . .” A hopeless multitasker, Barbara always had “one last thing” to do, usually for someone else, before leaving the house and marched to the tick of her own clock, believing, we strongly suspect, that nothing good could happen before she got there anyway. She was an amazing decorator, creating warm, beautiful spaces, and frequently offered her services if she stayed too long in any family member’s home. Although not always admitted by the recipient in the moment, she was invariably right – that chair really did look better in the other corner.

Barbara was an avid reader who loved cozy murder mysteries and happy endings and who read her Bible every day without fail. Raised in the traditions of the Southern Baptist Convention, Barbara’s Christian faith was a central tenet of her life, and she kept such an extensive prayer list that it is likely all who knew her were in her prayers at some point.

Barbara was the center of gravity for her family, who are all feeling somewhat unmoored without her. But Barbara’s zeal and love for others leave a legacy of a life well-lived that they are determined to follow, supporting one another, loving fiercely, laughing often, and living abundantly – just as Barbara always did.

Barbara was preceded in death by her father, Col. Keylon C. Randle, and her stepson, Mitchell “Mitch” Patrick Higgins. She is survived by her cherished husband, Peter; her children, Brandy Lollar Strahan (Jason), Neil Lollar (April), Tim Lollar (Blythe); her grandchildren, Zoe Strahan Johnson (Sam), Kirby Strahan, Noelle Lollar, Anna Caroline Lollar, and Gracie Reid Lollar; her mother, Helen Brown Randle; her sisters, Brenda Randle Morehead (Ben) and Elizabeth “Beth” Randle Jones (Michael); her brother, James Ray Herndon (Pati); her nieces, Christie Morehead Browning (Randy) and Amy Morehead Johnson (Guy); her nephews, Rick Jones (Sloane) and Kacy Pierson Jones; and a host of great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins.

The family will gather for a private memorial service on December 6, 2025, with the Reverend Dr. Ricky James officiating. Pegues Funeral Directors is entrusted with arrangements. A celebration of Barbara’s vibrant life is planned for all friends and family on Sunday, December 21, at Diamondhead Country Club.

All expressions of sympathy are welcome at PeguesFuneralHome.com

. In remembrance of Barbara’s compassion and care, the family asks that any charitable donations made in her honor be directed to Jacob's Well Baptist Church, Pass Christian, Mississippi.