CHARLES CROSS BIGELOW

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CHARLES CROSS BIGELOW April 25, 1928 November 25, 2008 Charles (Charlie) Bigelow, of Victoria, died on November 25, 2008, of complications following a fall and subsequent surgery. Son of the late Tupper S. and Helen Cross Bigelow, Charlie is survived by his wife Elizabeth (Sellick); son David of Nanaimo, British Columbia and daughter Ann of St. Thomas, Ontario. He had two grandchildren, Ian and Ryan Siess. After a somewhat dubious academic start seemingly aimed at graduating in the playing of bridge at the University of Toronto, Charlie went to the Royal Military College in Kingston as a member of the Class of the First 100 (2835), receiving a diploma in chemical engineering in 1952. A year later he received a B.A.Sc. in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto. He earned an M.Sc. in 1955 and a Ph.D. (in physical chemistry) in 1957, both from McMaster University. After completing graduate school he worked in the field of protein chemistry at a number of important institutions including the Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark and The Sloane-Kettering Institute in New York City. Charlie started his teaching career at the University of Alberta and then settled in London, Ontario working as a professor of biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario. Following a decade of highly successful work at Western, Charlie became interested in administrative positions. He was head of biochemistry at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland (1974 to 1977), Dean of Science at St. Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia (1977 to 1979), and from 1979 to 1989 he held the position he loved the most, Dean of Science at the University of Manitoba. On stepping down from the deanship a year before the end of his term ( Always leave before they want you to ) he was named a senior scholar and Dean Emeritus of the university, and later became Provost of University College at the U. of M. Throughout his administrative career he remained an active researcher and influential teacher. Charlie was politically involved both in and out of universities. He became active in the faculty association while at Western and in 1972 was elected president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). He was provincial secretary of the Newfoundland New Democratic Party (1974 to 1976), president of the Nova Scotia NDP (1978 to 1979) and president of the Manitoba NDP (1982 to 1984). Charlie's political awareness and scientific background naturally led him to environmental education. He was very early in his identification of global warming as a real and serious problem and, as the self-declared local expert on the hole in the ozone screen, he was often invited to speak before groups of teachers and other interested parties. Charlie was a passionate book collector and reader. He loved the challenge of a good crossword puzzle, and became a legend the day he declared that the answer to 13 Across was rodomontade. He enjoyed a good party and his repertoire of stories and jokes seemed endless. Charlie and Elizabeth travelled extensively, most recently to San Francisco so as to be in the United States for the historic Obama election. At Charlie's request there will be no funeral, memorial, speeches or maudlin gatherings. His family asks that he be remembered by the raising of a glass and a toast to a life well lived. (e-mail: thebigelows@shaw.ca)

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 29, 2008