Florence Wiggin Obituary

Florence Wiggin
Stratham, New Hampshire
10/23/32-2/15/2025

Florence Elizabeth Chisholm, daughter of William Chisholm, Jr. and Mary Brash, was born on October 23, 1932 in Winthrop, MA and died on February 14, 2025 at Exeter Hospital, after suffering a heart attack. Florence moved from Winthrop, MA to Stratham, NH in 1940. She attended Robinson Female Seminary in Exeter (class of 1950) and graduated Portsmouth High School (class of 1952). As a teenager, she loved to play sports, go horseback riding, and went waterskiing with the Hampton Beach Water Ski Club. After high school, she attended Wilfred Beauty Academy in Boston Massachusetts (class of 1954). Florence married Donald Wiggin on August 16, 1958 and they made their home on Portsmouth Avenue in Stratham, where she had a private hair salon in their home and Donald ran his home business, Wiggins Egg Service. In 1969, the family moved to the Chisholm Farm, later nicknamed the “Funny Farm”, which her grandfather had purchased in 1926. They raised two daughters, Tammy and Robin, on the farm where the family also had horses, cows, pigs and sheep. Floss (or Flossy), as many knew her by, was very active in the community her entire life. She sat on numerous town committees and volunteered with the Stratham Community Church. She played a key role in Stratham’s 250th anniversary celebrations in 1966, organizing the Stratham Carnival which led to the creation of the Stratham Fair; she was also involved with Stratham’s 300th anniversary in 2016. From the seventies through the nineties, she worked as the hairdresser at several nursing homes in Exeter. After her husband’s death in 1986, Floss began to travel the world as a member of the New Hampshire Friendship Chorus. She also began Scottish Country Dancing, which took her on more travels, and she even danced her way through castles in Scotland. Traveling and making new friends was her primary passion. Her many journeys and adventures of all kinds brought her to six of the seven continents many times over, and she always took plenty of pictures. Sint Maartin became one of her favorite places where she visited frequently in her later years. Flossy enjoyed singing choral music, was a longtime member of the Stratham Community Church Choir, and also sang with the Rockingham Choral Society. In 2012, she received the Granite State Beacon Award from New Hampshire Congressman Frank Guinta. She adored birds and would often find new and creative ways to feed and entice the local songbirds to her windowsill. Gardening, knitting, reading and cooking brought her joy; she was always organizing her family recipes while indulging her sweet tooth. Up until the day she passed, Flossy was an avid painter; always painting a wide variety of gifts for friends and family. She both made history and preserved history, while looking fabulous.     

Florence is survived by her two daughters and their husbands, Tammy & Glenn Hathaway and Robin & Barry Reed; her grandchildren, Ben & Corey Reed, Donald & Anja Reed, and John Hathaway; and her great grandchildren, Robson, Beckett, Caddis, Madeleine, and Boone Reed. Floss was known to her grandchildren as Oma and to her great grandchildren as Gigi.

Calling hours will be held at Stockbridge funeral home on Thursday, February 20th from 2:00pm - 5:00pm and the funeral will be held at Stratham Community Church on Friday, February 21st at 11:00am. Please join us to help sing her last song. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Donald Wiggin Memorial Scholarship Fund at Exeter High School and/or the Stratham Community Church.