Don Higgins was born in 1965 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NY, to Donald and Audrey Higgins of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY.  He was raised in Tappan NY and received religious instruction at Our Lady of Sacred Heart parish.  He is a graduate of Tappan Zee High School, Dominican University B.S and Iona University Hagen School of Business with an MBA in Finance.

Don recently retired from Orange & Rockland, after 31 years of service working his way up the ranks to manager positions in Gas Emergency Response and Emergency Preparedness. He was a member of the Con Edison Emerald Society.  Don is currently employed in the Compliance Department at Central Hudson Gas & Electric.

Don married Erin Reilly, originally from Blauvelt, NY in 1991. They chose to raise their five children, Matthew (RIP), Joseph, Siobhán, Bridget and Caitlyn in Orange County, living in Chester and Greenwood Lake, living the last 24-years in Sugar Loaf.

Don has been a member of St. Columba parish in Chester since 1993 and served many years as a parish lector.  In 1994 he joined AOH Division 1 in Monroe, NY, and held the positions of Sentinel, Marshall and Financial Secretary on various boards.  Due to his relationship with James Kelly he was asked to be a member of the Division 1 by-laws committee and the Orange County Shamrock degree team. Don also spent over a decade as a board member for the Fleming Scholarship committee.

Don and Erin were active participants of Project Children, hosting numerous children over the years, and were recently invited to Ireland to attend two weddings of the children they had sponsored.

In 2012 Don joined the Orange County Pipes and Drums as a snare drummer before moving onto the pipes.  He served on the board during one of the band’s biggest expansions and continues to be an active member.  Don also holds membership in the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Rockland County.

Don transferred his AOH membership to the McGuiness-McDonald Division 3 out of Warwick, NY, in hopes of building the division as a member of its current board.