Donald Godfrey Biglands

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Donald “Don” Godfrey Biglands on September 7th, 2025, at the age of 82, in Hinton, Alberta.  Don was born on December 7th, 1942, in Glencoe, ON.  He was raised in central Alberta as the oldest of six children and graduated from Peter Svarich High School in Vegreville, Alberta in 1961. 

Following his graduation, Don set off to explore the world and enjoyed several careers along the way.  After briefly residing in Edmonton he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia to work for the Carriage House Inn.  From there, Don moved to Nassau, Bahamas to manage a hotel and settled for a time in Puerto Rico, where he owned an ice cream parlor franchise and produced a children’s television show. 

Finally in 1974, with only one suitcase to his name, Don moved to New York City.  He started working in the mail room of Time Warner Inc. and with hard work and dedication he was eventually promoted to Copy Editor at Discover Magazine and then Editorial Operations Manager at Fortune Magazine.

Donald loved living in Manhattan and everything it had to offer.  He was an avid theatre goer, collected antiques, loved art and enjoyed going out to dinner.  Later in life Don started to split his time between New York and St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.  When he was in Florida he often worked as a docent at the Salvador Dali Museum and had a small antiques store.  Donald loved to entertain his family and friends at either of his residences, generously sharing his accommodations, taking us sightseeing and introducing us to his favourite experiences.  We all know a little more about history, culture, art and the world because of him.

Don will be remembered by a large and loving family including his sisters, Betty (Ron) Biglands, Kay Biglands, and Mary Biglands and brothers Harry (Lorette) Biglands and Bill (Licia) Biglands, as well as over 50 nieces, nephews and their children. He was predeceased by his partners, Jesse Stokes and Geraldo Benedicto, his brother in-law, Faron Young and his parents, Thomas and Isabel (McMurchy) Biglands.   

A private family service will be held at a later date.

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