BIGHAM, Rev. John Paul Bigham -
June 7, 1947 – May 11, 2023
John’s spirit returned to the Lord peacefully on May 11 at Sunnybrook hospital.
Cherished husband to Lucie, loving father to Blair (Fernando), Heather (Jordon), playful Poppy to grandchildren Lincoln John and Audrey, dear to brothers J. Mark (Karen) Chris (Susan), loved by many nieces and nephews.
John was born in Peterborough June 7, 1947, and is predeceased by his parents, Ronald (Link), Jeanne and Lois and stepsister Kathryn.After graduating the top of his engineering class at Queen’s University, he stepped into a full scholarship at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland for his master’s degree.
On his return he embraced a job setting up the sound system at Sheridan College before starting his engineering career at Canada General Electric in Peterborough.
He loved to explore the wilderness and honed his canoeing skills. John had the beautiful talent of making lifelong friends anywhere he went, even when he became a stay-at-home dad.
In 1993 John responded to God’s call on his life. Step one was learning Greek followed by four years of night school before completing his Master of Divinity at Knox College, University of Toronto.
During his years of pastoring the congregation at Victoria Royce in Toronto and then at St. Andrew’s in Ajax, John’s creativity reimaged how we could present the Gospel in new and exciting ways. His focus was on creating community and sharing his faith, which had become the most important thing in his life.
John’s creativity drove his activity. He loved taking things apart and add his touch of design in their making. He made his own canoe, paddles, and guitar, decks, desks and whatever else our family needed.
In retirement he designed, programmed, and built a model train layout showcasing his skill and love of constructing train stations perfectly to scale and detail.
A celebration of life will be held at St. Andrew’s Church, 35 Church St. N. Ajax 10:30 a.m. Saturday May 20. Visitation is at McEachnie’s Funeral Home, 28 Old Kingston Rd., Ajax. May 19, 5-8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers we invite you to honour John with a donation to pancreatic cancer research, Odette Centre, Sunnybrook hospital.
We give thanks to the Sunnybrook team for their care and caring for John during this time.
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