Obituary for Douglas George Biggs
It is with our deepest sorrow we announce our beautiful Doug has passed away.
We are blessed with knowing and loving him. His great qualities of love, compassion, and patience are what made him a wonderful husband, stepfather and friend. The depth of missing him will be unfathomable, but the beautiful memories of our time shared will be with us today and always. When Doug joined us, we became a beautiful family, as he loved and cared for Alyson and Vince like they were his own.
His CD titled “Biggsongs” was released in 2000 at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Some of his many friends in his CD were Laurie MacKenzie as producer, Don & Eric Zueff, Harold Eide, Bob and Kim Russell, Paul O'Neill, Paul James, Barry Mirochnik, Lloyd Peterson, Angel Calnek, John Sharples, John Baran, Dan Donahue, and Paul Kelly.
Doug was a wonderful musician and performed at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the West End Cultural Centre, acoustic clubs and concerts, solos, and many duos with good friend Laurie MacKenzie.
Doug shared the stage with Eric Bogle, James Keelaghan, Garnet Rogers, Oscar Lopez and Stephen Fearing, and Wally Landreth to name a few. He enjoyed playing at Winnipeg coffeehouses and played with close friends John Venesia, Debra Jonasson-Young, Charles (Chuck) Jonasson and Harold Eide and Jamie Longe’s band. He enjoyed the jams at Mark and Betty Mae Peikoff’s. He loved performing for the pure joy of the music and did so with grace, always receiving warm appreciation from the audience.
Doug was a conductor with CN Rail, he loved working on the trains, travelling the country and seeing many beautiful sunrise and sunsets. His stepchildren Alyson and Vincent remember helping him study his signals when they were young. He made many great friends over the years - John Venesia, Mike Danley, Jamie Longe, Abbie Deacon, Bob McDougall and many more.
Doug was predeceased by his parents Margaret and Maurice, his brothers Melvin and Morris and his mother-in-law Helen McKenna. Helen and Doug had a lot of love for each other and were great friends.
Doug is survived by his wife Kelly McKenna, stepchildren Alyson (Pete), Vincent (Melissa); and nephews: Andrew Biggs and his son Dorian; Michael Biggs (Katy) and their children Weslyn and Ternwell; by sister-in-law Sandy McKenna (Dave Saunders – great golfing getaway buddy) and brother-in-law Terry McKenna (musician soulmate) and Susan Kennedy, Brendan, Liam (Mattie), Siobhan and Calder McKenna; he spent many happy times over the years with friend and ‘Little Brother’ Bill Simpson.
The family would like to extend their real appreciation for the kind and professional support we received from palliative care, Dr. Joel Gingerich at CancerCare, nurses, home care, paramedics, and many years of thoughtful medical care from family doctor, Dr. Stewart Silagy.
Doug’s wishes were cremation with no service, flowers, etc.
We are blessed with knowing and loving him. His great qualities of love, compassion, and patience are what made him a wonderful husband, stepfather and friend. The depth of missing him will be unfathomable, but the beautiful memories of our time shared will be with us today and always. When Doug joined us, we became a beautiful family, as he loved and cared for Alyson and Vince like they were his own.
His CD titled “Biggsongs” was released in 2000 at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Some of his many friends in his CD were Laurie MacKenzie as producer, Don & Eric Zueff, Harold Eide, Bob and Kim Russell, Paul O'Neill, Paul James, Barry Mirochnik, Lloyd Peterson, Angel Calnek, John Sharples, John Baran, Dan Donahue, and Paul Kelly.
Doug was a wonderful musician and performed at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the West End Cultural Centre, acoustic clubs and concerts, solos, and many duos with good friend Laurie MacKenzie.
Doug shared the stage with Eric Bogle, James Keelaghan, Garnet Rogers, Oscar Lopez and Stephen Fearing, and Wally Landreth to name a few. He enjoyed playing at Winnipeg coffeehouses and played with close friends John Venesia, Debra Jonasson-Young, Charles (Chuck) Jonasson and Harold Eide and Jamie Longe’s band. He enjoyed the jams at Mark and Betty Mae Peikoff’s. He loved performing for the pure joy of the music and did so with grace, always receiving warm appreciation from the audience.
Doug was a conductor with CN Rail, he loved working on the trains, travelling the country and seeing many beautiful sunrise and sunsets. His stepchildren Alyson and Vincent remember helping him study his signals when they were young. He made many great friends over the years - John Venesia, Mike Danley, Jamie Longe, Abbie Deacon, Bob McDougall and many more.
Doug was predeceased by his parents Margaret and Maurice, his brothers Melvin and Morris and his mother-in-law Helen McKenna. Helen and Doug had a lot of love for each other and were great friends.
Doug is survived by his wife Kelly McKenna, stepchildren Alyson (Pete), Vincent (Melissa); and nephews: Andrew Biggs and his son Dorian; Michael Biggs (Katy) and their children Weslyn and Ternwell; by sister-in-law Sandy McKenna (Dave Saunders – great golfing getaway buddy) and brother-in-law Terry McKenna (musician soulmate) and Susan Kennedy, Brendan, Liam (Mattie), Siobhan and Calder McKenna; he spent many happy times over the years with friend and ‘Little Brother’ Bill Simpson.
The family would like to extend their real appreciation for the kind and professional support we received from palliative care, Dr. Joel Gingerich at CancerCare, nurses, home care, paramedics, and many years of thoughtful medical care from family doctor, Dr. Stewart Silagy.
Doug’s wishes were cremation with no service, flowers, etc.