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"Rhoda Ann Winn Higginbotham was born on December 29, 1931 to John and Eunice (Witt) Winn. She remembers going to the little church at Wisemantown and her grandmother Anna (Miller) Witt who taught her the Bible lessons in her Sunday School Class. She had a love for music even as a child and began taking lessons from her great aunt Elizabeth Powell, as a young girl.
Eventually she took lessons from Brown E. Telford and later at the University of Kentucky from Professor Nathaniel Patch. Rhoda attended school in the Irvine Public Schools. She played in the band and participated in the glee club there under her uncle Thomas Bonny. Her mother was the biology and chemistry teacher at Irvine High School. Service Motor Company, a dealership for Dodge and Plymouth automobiles was run by her father, John Winn and the building still stands today on Broadway in Irvine.
Following graduation from Irvine High School in 1949, Rhoda attended the University of Kentucky and majored in music focusing primarily on piano and music education. In 1953 she began her teaching career with the Fayette County Schools. She then taught in Estill County, Clark County, and Model Laboratory School at EKU and finished her career in Estill County. She was recognized throughout the state for her research and expertise regarding the boy’s changing voice. That research is still included in the EKU library.
She was also known for the many wonderful music plays and programs that she produced with her students. In those plays and programs most of the music was composed by the students, scenery was created by Rhoda and the students and most of the costumes were designed and made by Rhoda. She loved her students and her students loved her. In 1994, Rhoda received the Kentucky Music Educators Distinguished Service Award. So many of her students have become successful adults and several have made their career as musicians and/ or music teachers.
The church in Wisemantown was also an important part of her life. Rhoda was the primary musician at the church for more than fifty years. She played the organ and/or the piano all of her adult life. Her commitment to God is evidenced as she planned her schedule around church attendance each Sunday to teach Sunday School and play for the worship service. Other church members have difficulty recalling any time that she was not in church. She was faithful in organizing summer Bible School.
Rhoda is still remembered for the music that she provided and taught to the children and the congregation. Her Christmas pageants remain the talk of all who ever saw or participated in them. She and her son-in-law, Mike Moreland, led the process of selecting and having the beautiful stained glass windows installed that still make the Wisemantown Methodist Church a beautiful place. Blanche Hawkins also helped select the windows.
Rhoda was an excellent artist, antique dealer/consultant and gardener among her many other talents. She married Bill Higginbotham in 1955 and they had two children, Ann Winn Higginbotham Moreland and Gene Higginbotham.
Rhoda passed away on Monday March 22, 2012 after a long illness. She lives on in the cherished memories of her family, friends and former students. The community of Estill county is all the better for having her as a treasured citizen." - From Rhoda Ann Winn Higginbotham Estill County Hall of Honor Induction, 2012, As viewed 10/15/20 at [1].
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