Georgia P. "Polly" Huggins

Georgia Pauline Ellzey Huggins went joyfully to be with her Lord and Savior on February 9, 2015. Known throughout most of her life as Polly, she was born in Mendenhall, Mississippi, on June 4, 1931, and raised on the family farm near Magee. In April 1947 she married AF Sgt. Hubert F. Huggins, and they were blessed with 5 children: Nelson Frederick (Fred), Vernon Michael (Mike), Donald Ray (Don), William Joseph (Bill), and Tami Kathleen (Tami). They were stationed all over the South and had 2 tours in Japan. Polly loved to tell the story of sailing on a ship for 2 weeks to Fukuoka, Japan, with 3 boys all under the age of 5 and coming home with a 4th son. Fortunately, she had a great sense of humor! Polly was a self-educated woman who loved to read and had a remarkable memory. Throughout their service years of her marriage, Polly capably worked many jobs to supplement their income – selling shoes and freezers door-to-door with the 4 boys waiting in the station wagon, managing trailer sales, BX accounting work, and administrative work at the MacDill NCO Club. Later she owned and ran Polly’s Yarn Shop in downtown Natchitoches for a few years. She enjoyed a nice cold Budweiser and a Lucky Strike while watching her sons and, much later, her daughter play ball. The only thing better was a good joke to make her laugh out loud. She never met a stranger. While Polly and Hubert were stationed at MacDill AFB in 1970, they had a precious little girl named Tami. Polly always said her friends back in Louisiana thought this baby was really her son Mike’s because they looked so much alike. Mike’s fiancée provided photos of a very pregnant Polly from her baby shower in Tampa to her doubting friends! After Hubert’s retirement in 1974, the family moved to Cloutierville where Polly again enjoyed country life raising chickens, guineas, rabbits, and quail, and Hubert handled their small commercial herd of cattle. Three years later they moved to Natchitoches where they both truly loved watching their children and grandchildren fish, swim, and waterski behind their home on the Cane River. Although Polly never learned to swim, she truly loved fishing, frying the fish, and eating them. One of her first dates with her soon-to-be-husband was sitting in a boat watching him gig frogs. Shortly before she died, she was craving a “mess of bream.” Polly was preceded in death by her parents and stepfather, her two sisters, and her husband Hubert. She is survived by her 5 children – Fred, Mike (Mary), Don (Susie), Bill (Dianne), and Tami Wallace (John “Red”). She is also survived by 9 grandchildren Terrie, Sean, Christy, Julie, Scott, David, Jennifer, Hailiey, and David Austin; 13 great grandchildren Britt, Austin, Bethany, Gillian, Caylie, Alina, James Michael, Cooper, Chloe, Libby, Trace, Austin, and Kimmi; one great great grandchild Ethan; numerous cousins; and her sisters-in-law Edna Wangenstein of Natchitoches and Gladys Hinkle of California. A wake to celebrate Polly’s life will be held on Friday, February 13th, at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home from 5-8 PM because Mom loved having friends and family around. The funeral service will be held there at 11:00 AM on Saturday, February 14th. It’s only fitting that her earthly farewell is on Valentine’s Day because Polly thought love was the greatest gift you could ever give or receive. Burial will follow in Memory Lawn Cemetery.