MR. JAMES LAMAR (JIM) WIGGINS, age 77, of Eastman, GA, died Sunday, January 28, 2024, at his residence.
JAMES LAMAR “JIM” WIGGINS, age 77, of Eastman, died Sunday, January 28, 2024, at his residence.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, February 2, 2024 at Southerland Funeral chapel with Donnie Dixon, Reverend Clay Layfield, and Reverend Mike Hardin officiating. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Cemetery in Eastman.
Jim was born and raised in Savannah and later moved to Albany where he graduated from Albany High School in 1964. After graduation he attended Auburn University where he was a member of Theta Xi fraternity. In 1966 Mr. Wiggins enlisted in the US. Army and after basic training he attended flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama. After graduating flight school, he was selected to attend Cobra flight training at Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah. His class was the first to fly the Cobra in combat in Vietnam. Mr. Wiggins served proudly from November 1967 until November 1968 and was later awarded the Silver Star for his gallantry in action for service in Vietnam.
After completing his military service Mr. Wiggins graduated from Armstrong University in Savannah with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. In 1975 he earned his law degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in Macon and was published in the Law Review.
Mr. Wiggins began his legal career working with the Eastman law firm Smith and Harrington before becoming an Assistant District Attorney for the Oconee Judicial Circuit of Georgia in 1976. In l978 he became Public Defender. Mr. Wiggins was elected District Attorney of the Oconee Judicial Circuit in 1981 and held this position for 13 years. In 1994 he was appointed by President Bill Clinton for the position of United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. After many years of being a feared prosecutor, Mr. Wiggins established the law firm of Almand and Wiggins, where he continued to practice law until his retirement in 2014.
Mr. Wiggins was a member of Eastman First Baptist Church and Eastman Rotary Club. He served on the State Bar of Georgia Board of Governor's for many years and served on the State Board of Public Safety. Mr. Wiggins was an avid golfer and member of the Dodge County Golf Club where he was proudly a two-time club champion. He was a "Dye-hard" Auburn fan. Some of his family's favorite memories of him center around Auburn football and attending the games together. Mr. Wiggins was a proud father, grandfather and great-grandfather and loved his family dearly and they loved him dearly in return. Jim was the son of the late Marion Griffin Wiggins and L. Lamar Wiggins.
Survivors include his loving wife of 56 years, Kitty Tabb Wiggins; two daughters, Kitten Wiggins Holder (Scott) and Auburn Wiggins Salley (Jake) of Prosper, Texas; six grandchildren, Coty Wiggins (Sloane) of Douglasville, Trisha Connell (Tyler) and Chris Holder (Chelsey) of Eastman and Stoney Salley, Merebelle Salley and Branch Salley all of Prosper, Texas; six great-grandchildren, Payton Wiggins, Walker James Wiggins, Dezzi Thomas, Holden Thomas, Elleigh Connell and David Holder; one sister-in-law, Jo Bonds (Pete) of Fort Worth, Texas; three nieces, Missy Bonds, Bonnie Anderson (Clint) and April Bonds and one aunt Charlcy Griffin of Tampa, Florida.
The family may be contacted at the Wiggins residence located at 612 Evergreen Circle in Eastman. The family will receive friends in Southerland Funeral Chapel from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 1.
Locally owned and operated, Stokes-Southerland Funeral Home, has been "A Tradition of Trust" to Eastman, Dodge County and Middle Georgia for over 65 years.