Obituary of Ron Wigham

August 2, 1956 – Calgary, Alberta

January 18, 2024 – Calgary, Alberta

Ronald “Ron” Wigham of Calgary, AB, passed away on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at the age of 67 years, following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

Ron was born in Calgary, the oldest of Darol and Ev Wigham’s two children. The family lived in the Kelvin Grove neighbourhood, and Ron attended Henry Wise Wood High School. From an early age, Ron excelled academically and athletically. He was featured in Sports Illustrated as a 10-year-old for holding six different Canadian records in swimming, and he was frequently part of his school’s honour roll. Swimming and academics would eventually take Ron to the University of Oregon Honors College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance in 1978. It was also at the University of Oregon where Ron was set up on a blind date with the woman who would ultimately be his wife of 44 years, Melissa. Ron and Melissa were married on August 10, 1979, in Eugene, Oregon. Afterwards, they moved to Victoria where Ron attended law school.

In 1981, Ron and Melissa moved from Victoria to Calgary, where Ron worked as a corporate litigation attorney at Mason & Company (Miles Davison), and partner at Milner Fenerty (Dentons). After several years in the legal field, Ron elected to pursue a different challenge: corporate finance. He gained valuable experience at Calgary Shops First Marathon and Pan East Petroleum before joining boutique Calgary investment dealer Peters & Co. in 1998. Ron stayed at Peters & Co. until he retired in 2014. He would remain immersed in the financial world after retirement as a board member on Calgary companies Tourmaline Oil and Spur Petroleum Ltd.

Retirement for Ron meant more time for his passion of spending time outdoors. An avid climber and hiker, Ron ventured off for days at a time with only his equipment and a GPS locator (causing family anxiety levels to spike). He would also come up with flimsy reasons to visit southern California with Melissa when the Calgary air started to cool. When he stayed in the deep freeze, he would listen to hours of music in what he coined “the bunker” with friends and colleagues (and more often than not, a cocktail or two).

Ron was a voracious reader. When he was having heart problems, he read enough on the subject to become an (unofficial) honorary cardiologist. Similarly, when he learned about his cancer (first in the form of myelodysplastic syndrome, and later in the form of AML), he read so much on the subject that the staff at Tom Baker asked about his medical training. He was always able to stay positive in the face of an unbeatable foe, even until his final breaths as he and Melissa held hands and enjoyed their nightly ritual of watching the evening news from his hospital bed.

Ron is survived by his wife Melissa; sister Patricia; children, Marshall (Anne), Lauren (Brad) and Mackenzie; and his grandchildren, Lewis, Remy, Lachlan, and Ridley.

A Celebration of Ron’s Life will be held at the Calgary Golf & Country Club (one block west of Elbow Drive on 50th Avenue S.W.) on Friday, April 5, 2024, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please note that jeans are not permitted to be worn at the country club.

If friends so desire, in lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made directly to the National access Arts Centre, 8038 Fairmount Dr. SE, Calgary AB T2H 0Y1. Telephone: (403) 253-3174 www.accessarts.ca; or Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Alberta Cancer Foundation, 710, 10123-99 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 3H1. Telephone: (866) 412-4222 www.albertacancer.ca/in-memory.

The family extends special thanks to all of the doctors, nurses, and staff at Tom Baker Cancer Centre for their support.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Ron’s family here.

In living memory of Ron Wigham, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.