Jonathan Patrick Bigony

On Monday, April 11, 2016, Jonathan Patrick Bigony, passed from this life to the next surrounded by his beloved wife, Marysanta DiGregory Bigony; his son, James Robert; his daughter Emma Kathleen; his future daughter-in-law, Samantha Marton, priests and religious sisters. Jon is also survived by his brother, D. Michael (Charlotte) Bigony, brothers-in-law William (Wanda), James, John, and Dominic; nieces Leigha and Danielle; nephews Alan and Brian; his Aunt Moira; many cousins; brother Knights of Columbus; and members of the volunteer fire service. He was preceded in death by his son, Jonathan Patrick Bigony, II; his parents, Donald Ralph Bigony and Gertrude Emma (Huff) Bigony; and his brother, Robert Ralph Bigony.

Jon was born November 20, 1954, in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He attended Wayne Heights School in Waynesboro. His family later moved to Dover, where he graduated from Dover Area High School in 1972. Jon rose through the ranks of Boy Scouting and in 1972 earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a member of Troop 67 and was a member of the Order of the Arrow.

Soon after high school, Jon began work building tracked armored vehicles for a defense contractor while also attending Electronic Institutes in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1977, with an Associate of Specialized Technology in Electronic and Computer Technology.

In 1972, Jon also became a member of the Dover Township Volunteer Fire Department (Company 9) in Dover Township, York County, Pennsylvania, where he served the community as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician for 9 years. While still an active member of Dover VFD, Jon frequently spent weekends in Bowie. He became a member of the Bowie Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad in 1980. In 1982, Jon moved to Bowie. He lived at Fire Station 39 for two years, responding to calls evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays, while also working full-time in the private sector as a radio technician.

On December 17, 1982, Jon proposed to a fellow volunteer firefighter/EMT and the two were wed November 17, 1984. Their 31+ year marriage brought forth the birth of three beautiful children: James (JR); Jonathan (JP); and Emma. When his son JR became a Cub Scout, Jon did not hesitate to become active in Scouting. He brought the knowledge and skills he learned on his path to Eagle and his life experience to the Cubs as their Den Leader in Pack 730. When JR bridged into Boy Scouts, Jon also became active in Troop 1249 as a member of the Troop Committee and a Merit Badge Counselor. He experienced the joy of pinning the Eagle Scout badge on his son and seeing his son go on to earn the bronze, silver, and gold palms. For several summers, Jon served as a Shooting Sports Instructor at Henson Scout Reservation, with his son by his side. JR also followed his father into the fire service and the two spent many hours together attending meetings and working on projects, particularly during summers and after JR’s graduation from Mount St. Mary’s. One of their favorite activities was the Friday Lunch Bunch. Jon was also looking forward to JR’s upcoming wedding and Samantha Marton officially becoming his daughter-in-law, though he had long considered her part of the family.

The 1999 arrival of his daughter, Emma Kathleen (whom he also called Emmy, Emma K, or EKB), brought Jon tremendous joy and helped to heal the grief of his son JP’s sudden, accidental death in 1997. Emma’s joyful smile, her musical talent in both piano and voice, her karate skills, and her ability to discuss a variety of topics including history, physics, chemistry, power tools, and shooting, brought much joy to Jon. Even though he was physically limited, he really enjoyed listening to Emma perform, watching her in karate class, discussing her scholarly pursuits, teaching her how to cook and safely use firearms, and snuggling next to her watching marathon episodes of their favorite shows.

For years Jon served the youth of the Archdiocese of Washington behind the scenes in support of Catholic Boy Scouting. He supported his wife’s activities with the Catholic Committee on Scouting, including hosting monthly dinner meetings for the Scouts leading the retreat and managing the logistics of keeping the retreat weekend on schedule. Each year he set-up their base at the retreat, including his cooking station and he prepared his wife’s meals because he knew she was often too busy to eat at the scheduled times. He supported Santa in her work in a way that only comes from a deep love of a husband for his bride. Although Jon was never the official youth ministry volunteer, and would not ask for recognition, Santa, JR, and Emma’s ministry and work with Catholic Scouting and other Youth Ministry programming was made possible by his love and support. He never sought recognition and was surprised to be a recipient of the Bronze Pelican Award, recognizing his service to Catholic Scouting in the Archdiocese of Washington.

Jon was a life member of the Bowie Volunteer Fire Department with 35 years of service, holding the positions of Firefighter/EMT, Apparatus Operator, Lieutenant, Vice President, and President, a position he held for more than 20 years. His last term ended in 2015. He continued to serve on the Executive Board as past president until his health no longer permitted it. Jon completed numerous training programs in fire suppression, emergency care, disaster preparedness and operations, fire prevention, and fire department management and administration. He was responsible for the institution of a formal budgeting process and an apparatus replacement program and was very involved in the purchase of several pieces of apparatus. He was also successful in negotiating the return of Company 19’s 1964 Brockway, old Engine 192, to the department. He will take his final ride on this historic piece.

Jon was the recipient of the Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department’s Distinguished Service Award, the Prince George’s County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association’s Francis Xander Firefighter of the Year Award, and Rodney Gilbert Fire and EMS Individual of the Year Award. In recognition of his contributions and years of dedicated service, he was elected to the Prince George’s Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association Hall of Fame in 1999.

Concurrent with his service in Bowie, he was also very active in the Prince George’s County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, progressing through the chairs, serving as President from 1993-1994 and on the Association’s Board of Directors for 4 years. He contributed significantly to the Apparatus Replacement “508” Program and the work of the Training Committee, resulting in revised legislation known as CB-82-1994. In 2009, he was elected to serve as a Prince George’s County Fire Commissioner and he continued to serve through 2015. Even though his health prevented his ongoing involvement as an elected representative, he remained an advisor to the commission for Logistics until his death. One of his most significant accomplishments was the successful negotiation of long needed improvements in the Length of Service Awards Program for members of the volunteer fire departments in the county.

Jon retired from Prince George’s County Government in 2004 after over 18 years of service as a Communications Specialist. He held numerous certifications in radio systems, including certification by the FCC as a First Class Radio-Telephone Operator and an Advanced Class Amateur Radio Operator. He also served as the Maryland and District of Columbia Frequency Coordinator for the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and as a member of the National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC).

Jon was received into the Catholic Church on December 19, 2009 in the midst of the monster snow storm now known as “Snowpocalypse”. He became a member of the Knights of Columbus on June 10, 2010 and was exemplified into the Fourth Degree on March 12, 2011. He remained active in the Knights of Columbus until limited by his health.

While in Pennsylvania, Jon earned his private pilot license and enjoyed flying over areas of southern Pennsylvania and Annapolis. He was a member of the National Rifle Association and Berwyn Rod and Gun Club. Jon also took pleasure in riding his motorcycle, snowmobiling, camping, hunting, shooting sports, astronomy, golf, and science fiction, particularly Isaac Asimov, Star Trek, and Babylon 5. He enjoyed attending Star Parties and Science Fiction conventions.

Family will receive visitors Tuesday and Wednesday, April 19 and 20, 2016 from 3:00 – 8:00 pm at McNamara’s (7800 Chestnut Avenue, Bowie). Fire Department Memorial Service will be Tuesday, April 19th at 7:00 pm. On Wednesday, the Rosary will be offered at 4:00 pm. Vigil Service will be at 7:00 pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, April 21, at 11:00 a.m. at Ascension Catholic Church, Bowie. Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton, next to his son, JP.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:

Saint John Paul II Seminary (all checks must be made payable to: Archdiocese of Washington)

145 Taylor Street, NE

Washington, DC 20017

www.dcpriest.org

or

Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara

1714 Crain Highway

Upper Marlboro, MD 20774

http://ssvmusa.org/index.php/convents/novitiate-st-kateri/