The Reverend E.W. Higginbottom, Sr., passed away Wednesday, April 29, 2020, at the age of 89. E.W. Higginbottom was born in Oxford on March 29, 1931, to mother, Melissa and father, Elwood Higginbotham.  

His father was a sharecropper in Oxford and was lynched in the year 1935 at the age of 29. On Oct. 27, 2018, Reverend Higginbottom and his family attended a ceremony in remembrance of his father. A marker stands as dedication to his father at Molly Bar Road and North Lamar Boulevard in Oxford – near the spot where he was lynched. Rev. Higginbottom was a major asset in the South Memphis area. He has pastor over 3 decades at New Abundant Life Church. He leaves in his memory six children, 25 grandchildren, 61 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.