Mac Wiggins

Frederick McConnell “Mac” Wiggins, age 75, died October 14, 2023, after a brief stay in hospice at Paris Henry County Healthcare Center. 

Mac was born March 5, 1948, to Guy and Virginia Wiggins while they were stationed at Oak Ridge. The family returned to Paris shortly thereafter, where Mac lived for the rest of his life other than while at college. Mac was an Eagle Scout (1962) and obtained his B.S. from UT Martin in 1975. Mac retired from Security Bank as a courier in 2012. Before that, he managed Joe & Jerry’s Amoco Station on Mineral Wells for about 12 years. 

Mac was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow cancer, in 2016 and fought a hard fight since. He was a volunteer in a clinical trial at Vanderbilt, helping to pave the way for FDA approval and commercial availability of pacritinib (Vonjo). 

Mac loved nothing more than fishing for crappie on Kentucky Lake, hunting whitetail deer from his tree stand, or hunting wild turkey from a ground blind. Mac was also a strong tennis player and golfer as well as a hard worker who always provided for his family. Mac and his wife Elaine also provided a home for numerous foster children over the years, many of whom remain grateful and in touch to this day. Mac loved his hunting and fishing buddies Roger, Bob, and David, and many other friends and acquaintances. Mac rarely had a harsh word for anyone and was a friend to many. He was particularly fond of his fellow football teammates and classmates from Grove High School (Class of 1966) and his UT Martin fraternity brothers in Phi Sigma Kappa. Raised Methodist, Mac was a member of the Paris Seventh Day Adventist Church most of his adult life. 

Mac is survived by his wife, Elaine Wiggins, whom he married in 1976; his older brother, Marc Wiggins of Paris; his son, Kyle Wiggins (Andrea) of Louisville, KY; his daughter, Jennifer Smith Lenz (Ben) of Paris; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. 

Mac was preceded in death by his parents; his aunt, Kathryn McConnell of Nashville; his uncle, Roy Wiggins of Memphis; his four half-sisters: Ruth, Pearl, Mary, and Faye; and a half-brother, Noel. 

Mac’s family is forever grateful to the caregivers at Vanderbilt’s Ingram Cancer Center: Dr. Michael Savona, Nurse Judy Powers-Smith, Nurse Leroy Dimopoulos, and so many others. 

Ridgeway Funeral Home arranged for Mac’s cremation, and a Celebration of Life will be held in the near future. An announcement will follow in the Paris Post-Intelligencer. Burial will be in the family plot at Maplewood Cemetery in Paris.