John J. Diggins

Diggins, John J. of Hingham April 24, 2006. Beloved husband of 43 years to Mary J. (Cotter) Diggins. Loving father of John Diggins of Quincy, James Diggins of Norwell, Mary Morse of Hull and Joan Gaidimas of Avon, CT. Loving grandfather of Brenna, Elizabeth, Madeleine, James, Joseph, John and Delaney. Brother of Kevin Diggins of Berlin, MA. Also survived by many nieces & nephews. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral from the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, 21 Emerald St. (off Central St.), HINGHAM, Friday at 9 AM. Funeral Mass in Church of the Resurrection, Hingham at 10 AM. Visiting hours Thursday 4-8 PM. Burial in MA National Cemetery, Bourne Friday at 2:15 PM. Born in Boston, Mr. Diggins grew up in Jamaica Plain and attended Cathedral High School. He graduated from Boston College in 1957 where he majored in Economics and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant through the Army ROTC program. After serving in the Army on Active Duty, he continued his service in the Army Reserves for 34 years. He was a member of the Special Forces and for many years served in the 187th Infantry Brigade where he was the commander from 1980 to 1985. He retired from the Army Reserves in 1991 as a Brigadier General and Deputy Commander of all Army Reserve Forces in New England. In civilian life, Mr. Diggins was a teacher, guidance counselor, and school administrator for the City of Boston for 37 years. He taught physics and chemistry at Boston Tech in the 1960s and was a guidance counselor at Copley Square High School for much of the 1970s. He spent the last 20 years of his career as Citywide Director of Guidance. He was also citywide coordinator of Native American Affairs. He earned his M.Ed. from Boston State and his CAGS from Boston College and Northeastern University. Mr. Diggins originally lived in Boston and for the past 35 years was a resident of Hingham where he was an active member of VFW Post #6053, American Legion Post #120, Special Forces Association, William Buckley Memorial Chapter 54, and MOAA. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory Mr. Diggins may be made to the Disabled American Veterans Memorial Program, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250 or to the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans, 17 Court St., Boston, MA 02108.