Rufus

Rufus Biggs, affectionately known as “Man”, was born a twin with Ruth Biggs on June 16, 1932, to Rufus Biggs, Sr., and Minnie Sue Barton. His birthplace was Okolona, Arkansas. The following year after his birth, his Mother Minnie Sue passed away so Rufus, his twin and older sister Rosetta moved in with their grandfather, William Cornelius Biggs and aunt Mattie Duncan until 1942. While in Arkansas, Rufus attended school at peck High and faithfully attended AME Methodist Church.

NOTE: Although we have always celebrated their birthday on June 16, birth certificate puts his birthdate as perhaps June 17. When Man found out about the date issue, he decided to continue to recognize June 16 as his birthday.
Man’s travel records show that he lived in Arkansas, Oklahoma, MJontana and Arizona.

Sometime after staying with his grandfather and aunt, Rufus moved to Harden, Montana with his dad, Rufus, Sr. and stepmother Myrtle Ruth Biggs. He continued his education at Harden High. In 1949, he married Loretta Johnson and started his journey into fatherhood in 1951 with the birth of Myrtle Ruth and 1952 the birth of Mary Louise. In 1953, he moved to Billings, Montana where his family continued to grow with the birth of Robert Earl and Rufus III. Rufus also lived in Arizona and in 1955, he moved to Delano, CA, where he resided for 45 years until his death in 2001.

Rufus was the father to several children:

Rufus and Loretta Johnson married in 1949. From that union came the following children.

Myrtle Ruth Biggs, born in 1951 in Harden, Montana
Mary Louise Biggs, born 1952 in Harden
Robert Biggs, born 1953 in Billings, Montana
Rufus Biggs, born 1954 in Billings, Montana
Hattie Biggs, born 1956 in Phoenix, Arizona
Gwendolyn Biggs, born in Delano, California
Rodney Biggs, born 1960 in Delano, California
Richard Biggs, born 1961 in Delano, California
Anita, born 1962 in Delano, California

Rufus also fathered Vincent with Mabel in Delano, CA and Britanna (Vette) with Pinky in Billings, Montana,.

In 1985, Rufus married Lucidney and became a loving stepfather to two more sons, Benjamin and Darvin.

In the early 1980’s Rufus was called to the ministry. He was baptized in 1982 at St. Paul Baptist Church.. He became a Deacon at Sweet Home where he accepted his call to the ministry. Later he moved to New Hope Baptist Church where on December 17, 1989, he was ordained and later became Pastor. He received his BA in Religious Education on May 26, 1995. He was the moderator of the Shilo District Churches Association. He worked for Virgnolia Farms and many of the ranches and cold storages in Delano. He also worked for Calico Compress for 32 years and was a union shop steward.

Rufus was a caring man and would give the shirt off his back to anyone, especially children. The joke around town was that there was a sign on the freeway that read “those in need exit here and go to the green house on Austin Street. There lives a man who will help you.”

Rufus came from a very large family and was instrumental in starting the Biggs-McClain Family Reunion which celebrated its 21st anniversary in 2001, the year Rufus passed.

Rufus ended his life’s journey on September 18, 2001 at 2:29 am.