She was never the type of person to back down from a challenge. Doris Adele Higginbottom, 44, joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a typist in 1978 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English four years later. After brief periods at the Federal Aviation Administration and the San Antonio Express News, Higginbottom rejoined the USDA in 1980. She most recently was a Department of Agriculture purchasing agent. Higginbottom was active in women’s issues and was manager of the Oklahoma City USDA’s Federal Women’s Program. Her husband’s name was David and she had two stepchildren, Kelly and Van.