A family is remembering Trevor Hignett, a loving husband and father with an infectious sense of fun, whose heart always belonged to Suffolk.
Trevor Hignett, known affectionately by many as ‘Stiggy’ was the kind of man who fun seemed to follow.
“Trev was the life and soul of the party,” said his wife, Stella Hignett. “If there wasn’t a party going on when Trev turned up, there was afterwards.”
Trevor was born in Coddenham in 1954, the youngest of two children born to Tom and Kathleen Hignett. His older sister, Barbara, loved to play with her baby brother, although this was not always Trevor’s idea of fun.
“Barbara and her friend used to put him in a pram and pretend he was a baby,” laughed Stella.
After leaving school, Trevor trained as a plumber at Jackson plumbing, before going on to create his own business in his mid-twenties, T E Hignett Plumbing and Heating.
This career would take Trevor all around the world. On one occasion, Trevor took 20 workers out to Brazil to complete work on an oil rig, and on another, he flew out to Spain to work on a swimming pool.
On one memorable occasion, he flew out to Poland with a team to work on a bungalow belonging to man who owned a taxi company.
Stella said that the stories Trevor told her of this trip were "horrendous".
“He had about 15 boys go out with him, but Trev ended up the only one left, because none of them could stand the cold,” she said.
“Apparently, this man had two of his henchmen cut a hole in the lake by his property, lifted Trev up and hung him over the lake, and said, ‘If you don’t get it done, this is where you’ll end up!’”
Stella met Trevor in 1998, when they were both working in Warrington, near Liverpool.
“He walked in, and that was how it started, up and down the motorway for a year,” said Stella.
“I sold up and moved down here in 2000. I never looked back – this is home.”
The couple made their home in Hemingstone, where they made many happy memories.
For all the time that Trevor had spent overseas, Stella said that his heart belonged to Suffolk, a love which he soon passed on to her.
“He was definitely a true and out Suffolk boy. He loved the countryside, and hated being in cities. He’d have lived off the land if her could,” she said.
By the time Trevor and Stella met, his son, Toby, was ten years old, and Stella’s children, Mathew, Allen, Christopher and Stella, were in their teens.
Stella said that she, Trevor and the children enjoyed many happy moments together, especially when all the children would come to stay.
“There was one time when I had made a trifle, when it was coming up to Trev’s birthday,” she said. “I said to them, Don’t eat this trifle – it's for a food fight at the bottom of the garden. When you taste it, I want you to say, that tastes awful! And then flick it at someone.
“It turned into mayhem. Trev was mortified! He said, I’ve been waiting all week to eat this trifle!
“It was so funny. I did make him another trifle though.”
Trevor also enjoyed spending time on his boat, Peggy Su, which was moored at Levington.
“We would go out every weekend on the boat,” Stella said. “He absolutely adored fishing – but I always used to catch more than him!”
Trevor also loved spending time at the Coddenham Country Club, where he would sometimes work behind the bar. Stella said that Trevor had many friends at the club, which will be holding a celebration of his life this weekend.
Stella said that she is grateful for all the happy times she shared with Trevor, before he was diagnosed with dementia two and a half years ago.
"In the 68 years he was here, he definitely crammed a lot in,” she said.
Trevor Hignett died on January 4, 2023.
A celebration of his life will take place at Coddenham Country Club from 1pm on Sunday, January 22.
Any donations will be shared between Dementia UK and Hadleigh Nursing Home, where Trevor spent his final few months.
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