BIGELOW, John Murray (Jack)

The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, Arizona Wednesday, October 07, 2015 John Murray Bigelow died Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015, in Wickenburg of causes incident to age. He was 85 years old. “Jack” was born on May 4, 1930, in Summit, N.J., the oldest child of Murray Murch Bigelow and Mildred Rider Bigelow. His beautiful baby sister, Joanie, was born eight years later. He loved and protected her all of his life. As a child, he enjoyed playing with his goat, Nancy, helping his father deliver milk, and spending time with cousins. After high school graduation, he met the love of his life, Georgianne Queen. He knew from the moment he met her that he wanted to spend his life with her. He served in the Army during the Korean War and married Georgianne on Sept. 13, 1953. Their union was blessed with four children; Sally, Donna, David and Anne Marie. They lived in New Jersey, California, Washington, Idaho and Arizona. Jack held many jobs, including salesman, real estate agent and job recruiter. As a real estate agent in the 1960s, he was active in the Civil Rights movement to ensure equal housing opportunities for minority families. He was a proud Democrat all of his life and was happy to share his political views. Jack was a loving husband and father and a faithful member of the Catholic Church. He was a lay minister in the Franciscan order and lived the Spirit of St. Francis in a life of service, charity and assisting people in need. He was a lay chaplain for the police department and hospital, worked in food banks and soup kitchens, gathered and delivered bread to homeless shelters, and was instrumental in the “Unity in the Community” effort in Idaho Falls in the 1990s. This group organized prayer-a-thons, involving people of many different faiths. In later years, he loved woodworking, playing golf, watching Jeopardy and sports on TV, telling jokes, feeding the birds, eating jellybeans and serving his sweetheart. Georgianne passed away on his 85th birthday. He missed her greatly and was looking forward to their reunion. He said, “One hour spent with family is worth a hundred hours spent doing something else”. Jack is survived by a sister, Joan Angliss, of Hemet, Calif.; his children Sally (Jay) Hildebrandt of Idaho Falls, Donna (Jeff Senior), of Alamo, Calif., David (Sandy) Bigelow of Skull Valley, and Anne (Art Lewis) of Skull Valley. He leaves 10 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. His wife, Georgianne; his parents; and a grandson, John Senior, preceded him in death. A family graveside service will be held at the Veteran’s Cemetery in Prescott.