Robert Higginbotham named the company he founded after his daughter and son – Claire Chase (asi/45252).

That tells you a lot about the 61-year-old from Georgia.

Robert Higginbotham

Indeed, those close to him say that Higginbotham’s life was characterized by his success as both an entrepreneur and loving family man. That’s the way friends and family will remember the man with the friendly eyes and welcoming smile after he tragically lost his life on Feb. 21 in an automobile accident.

“He loved so hard. He was so outgoing,” Mary Claire Smith, Higginbotham’s daughter, told WSB-TV. “He couldn’t wait to take my son to Braves games, and he couldn’t wait to take him bass fishing.”

The accident occurred around 11:20 p.m. Feb. 21. Higginbotham was attempting to make a left turn from a northbound lane near his home when a vehicle traveling south collided with his car. The Claire Chase founder was pronounced dead at the scene. A teenager, who survived and was hospitalized, was reportedly driving the other car. The crash remains under investigation, but police indicated to WSB-TV that speed on the part of the teenage driver was a factor in the collision.

Right now, police are calling this an ongoing investigation, but an officer at the scene told me that speed is to blame for the deadly crash that killed 61-year-old Rob Higginbotham on Friday evening. pic.twitter.com/HYOLxtboeJ

— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) February 23, 2020

An identical twin born on Sept. 11, 1958, Higginbotham graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in political science. Still, it was business, not politics, where he found his fit, founding Claire Chase in 1987. The Marietta, GA-based firm specializes in high-quality luggage and bags. “He built Claire Chase from the ground up into a very successful business, which is still thriving to this day,” an obituary states.

Meagan White, an account coordinator for Claire Chase, told Counselor that the business will carry on under the direction of Mary Claire Smith, who has been working under her father for eight years, helping to grow sales and build business relationships. “Rob would want us to continue with ‘business as usual,’ ” White told Counselor. “This company, and the industry as a whole, were both very important to him.”

In addition to his daughter, Robert Higginbotham is survived by his son, Chase Robert Higginbotham; his twin brother, Lawrence Higginbotham, and brother David Higginbotham; his stepsisters, Hilary Phillips and Christina Martin; his two grandchildren, Andrea Higginbotham and Reid Smith; and his stepmother, Kathy Higginbotham.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make donations to the charities that were close to Higginbotham’s  heart – The Wounded Warrior Project and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.