M.B. Huggins Obituary

M.B. "Sonny" Huggins, III TIMMONSVILLE, SC - M. B. "Sonny" Huggins, III, 73, passed away Saturday, Feb. 14,2015 in a Myrtle Beach Hospital after a brief illness. A memorial service will be Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 3 :00 p.m. at St. Luke Lutheran Church, 1201 Cherokee Rd, Florence. The family will speak to guests after the service. Mr. Huggins was born in Florence County, the son of the late M.B., Jr and Hazel Jones Huggins. From the time Sonny was born his life was involved with flying. He made hisfirst solo flight in 1952. He worked with Park Aerial Survey in Louisville, Kentucky. He moved back to his hometown of Timmonsville, SC and started crop dusting. After the death of his father, Sonny began flying for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. With the passing of his father, Sonny was the second Pilot that flew for SLED. He was instrumental in search and rescue of missing persons, convicts, destroying liquor stills and marijuana plants. He retired from SLED with 28 years of service. Sonny was a life member of EAA, life member of VAA, Chapter #3, and a member of the South Carolina Breakfast Club Assoc. M.B. "Dusty" Huggins, Sonny's father, was an avid pilot and had so many accomplishments that Sonny and his friend Bobby Jonte collaborated and published a tribute to M.B. Huggins. Surviving are his wife of 30 years, Bettie Bennett Huggins to whom he married while in flight; two sisters, Rose Marie (James "Sonny") Sewell, Timmonsville, Cathy High, Atlanta, GA; two step-sons, Kevin (Becky) Pickrel, Cheraw, Michael (Suzanne) Pickrel, Myrtle Beach, SC; grandchildren, Kristian Pickrel, Garrett Pickrel, Braylin Pickrel, Abigail Pickrel and a host of nieces and nephews, and his canine companion "Bisquit". He is preceded in death by his daughter, Dawn Nicole Huggins and a brother, Fred M. Huggins. Layton-Anderson Funeral Home, 4210 W. Palmetto Street, Florence is assisting the family with arrangements. You are invited to sign the guestbook at laytonandersonfh.com Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston