When Claire Higginbotham graduated June 15 from Fairfax High, she became the third generation in her family to graduate from that school. Celebrating her accomplishment were her father, Forrest Higginbotham, FHS '82; her paternal grandfather, Brent Higginbotham, FHS '50; and her two maternal grandparents who graduated in the early '60's, Christina Thurston and Michael Eidson.
“This is a unique situation that highlights the City of Fairfax and Fairfax High School,” said Forrest Higginbotham. “So many other schools were not even built in 1950, so its age is a special feature of FHS. And the fact that three paternal generations in succession have attended FHS speaks to the desirability of the school district as a home.
Claire’s mom, Ginger Higginbotham, further noted that her mother, Christina Fay Thurston, graduated from Fairfax in 1965 and was its 1964 homecoming queen. Her father, Michael Roy Eidson, graduated in 1963 and was nominated as Johnny Rebel in 1962.
“When my Father graduated in 1950, there were few other high schools in Fairfax and none further west,” said Forrest Higginbotham. “Woodson was built in 1962 and Robinson in the 1970s. My brother and sister have moved out of the area, so my progeny and I are the last of the Higginbotham legacy in Fairfax. My two older kids went to Paul VI, which was Fairfax High School in 1950, so they experienced the same building as three of their grandparents.”
“The facility from which my daughter and I graduated was built in the early ‘70s, so we have stayed true to the institution of Fairfax High, if not the physical facility,” he continued. “Each of our three generations lived in a different location, but within the Fairfax High School district. It’s a fun legacy because so few high schools are old enough to have three generations.”
Claire will attend JMU in the fall. Meanwhile, her father wonders “what the chances are of her someday having a child with the last name of Higginbotham who will also graduate from Fairfax High School?”