2006.11.25: November 25, 2006: Headlines: COS - Nepal: Obituaries: San Jose Mercury News: Obituary for Nepal RPCV Alfred Wigger
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2006.11.25: November 25, 2006: Headlines: COS - Nepal: Obituaries: San Jose Mercury News: Obituary for Nepal RPCV Alfred Wigger
Obituary for Nepal RPCV Alfred Wigger
When he retired from teaching in 1987, he applied to the Peace Corps and spent a year in Nepal. He was a science teacher, his son said, but he shared whatever knowledge he had. His travels continued -- to Australia, New Zealand, China, Costa Rica and Alaska. He saw the Grand Canyon on a whitewater rafting trip. He drove to the Northwest Territories of Canada and traveled through the Panama Canal. He bungee-jumped at age 76, sky-dived right before an operation a year ago and, with one more dream to fulfill, worked his weight back up to get himself on a glider. 'He was going right to the end,' his son said.
Obituary for Nepal RPCV Alfred Wigger
Alfred Wigger, adventurer, influential Saratoga teacher
San Jose Mercury News
November 25, 2006
There just aren't enough of you to go around.
Al Wigger's son, Dave, preparing a memorial service for his 82-year-old father, who died Nov. 17, is going through desk drawers and finding letters with sentiments like these:
'My life would have been very different if I hadn't had you for a teacher.' . . . 'The things I learned from you have influenced me ever since and will continue all my life.' . . . 'There just aren't enough of you to go around.'
That memorial service will be held at Redwood Middle School in Saratoga, where Mr. Wigger taught for many years. The principal there is a former student of Wigger's. The superintendent of the district, Saratoga Union, is, too.
Mr. Wigger's ability to listen, to care and to be a positive light, his son said, were qualities that endowed everything he did. After becoming a master gardener, he used his knowledge to help others, providing neighbors with fresh vegetables from his personal garden.
He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year ago, but he continued to lift weights at the YMCA every other day, as he had for years. Nor did he stop sleeping outside on a veranda -- Mr. Wigger demanded fresh air, even in the cold.
When he retired from teaching in 1987, he applied to the Peace Corps and spent a year in Nepal. He was a science teacher, his son said, but he shared whatever knowledge he had.
His travels continued -- to Australia, New Zealand, China, Costa Rica and Alaska. He saw the Grand Canyon on a whitewater rafting trip. He drove to the Northwest Territories of Canada and traveled through the Panama Canal.
He bungee-jumped at age 76, sky-dived right before an operation a year ago and, with one more dream to fulfill, worked his weight back up to get himself on a glider.
'He was going right to the end,' his son said.
Mr. Wigger grew up in Redwood City, the son of a locomotive engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He joined the Navy in World War II, right out of high school, and served in the Pacific.
He found his way to teaching and finished his education at San Jose State. But a mind like Mr. Wigger's did not quit when the bell rang, nor did it stay in one lane. Mr. Wigger became a master composter, storyteller and cribbage player. He fought to clean and protect Calabasas Creek, near his Cupertino home.
And he held fast to sobriety, for the last 33 years of his life, sponsoring hundreds in recovery.
Now, many of those whom Mr. Wigger encouraged and inspired are reaching out to his son.
'It's just incredible,' Dave Wigger said, 'an overwhelming amount of people.'
Alfred Wigger
Born: Feb. 13, 1924, in Redwood City
Died: Nov. 17, 2006, in Cupertino
Survived by: Son, Dave Wigger of Whangerei, New Zealand, and daughter, Amy Hussain of San Joaquin.
Services: 5 p.m. Friday at Redwood Middle School, 13925 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga.
Memorial: In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Hospice of the Valley, 1150 S. Bascom Ave. No. 7A San Jose, Calif., 95128; National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, Va., 20190-5362; or the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter, 3921 East Bayshore Road, Suite 204, Palo Alto, Calif., 94303.
Copyright © 2006 San Jose Mercury News, All Rights Reserved.
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Headlines: November, 2006; Peace Corps Nepal; Directory of Nepal RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Nepal RPCVs; Obituaries; California
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Story Source: San Jose Mercury News
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