Douglas John Higgs

Douglas John Higgs was born in Hampton, England in 1935 to Millicent Griffiths and Robert Edward Higgs. He is likely remembered by many as someone who loved to chat and who enjoyed making others laugh. Several of his middle school report cards note that he was a good student, who perhaps could have had better grades if only he applied himself more and spent less time joking and distracting fellow students with his socializing!

After finishing school, Doug was called to serve in the armed forces, in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He spoke often and fondly of his time stationed in Malta. He would laughingly recall that the army taught him many things, including how to sleep anywhere, and that his time in the army also cured his childhood tendency to be a picky eater.

In 1965 Doug met Patricia Wicks in Hampton. Doug and Patricia were married in a small civil ceremony on March 31, 1966, and had a honeymoon in Beirut, Lebanon. Shortly after, Doug and Patricia left England to begin a new life in Canada that for Doug spanned nearly 60 years.

While living in Toronto, Doug worked as an industrial engineer for Philips Electronics. In an era when technology was evolving rapidly and becoming more accessible to the general population, Doug worked on the design of one of the early under-dash automobile radio and cassette players. In 1968, Doug and Patricia left Toronto and moved into their first house in a newly developing suburb of Oshawa. Shortly after, Doug became a father to Nicholas, and in 1970, to Melissa. By then Doug worked closer to home as an industrial designer at Andrew Antenna, focused on the design and fabrication of earth station antennas and satellite dishes that would play a key role in the delivery of Canadian telecommunications and television across Canada.

Doug worked at Andrew Antenna for over twenty years, retiring in 1995. The family have very fond memories of the events and social opportunities provided by the company, including annual corn roasts, Christmas parties with carefully selected presents for all the children, and best of all – a shared company cottage on a lake in Coboconk. The family were lucky to spend several memorable weeks at the rustic cottage over the course of many summers, experiencing the very Canadian rituals of cottage country including fishing, jumping off the dock, cooking meals over a fire, roasting marshmallows, and many other experiences that were very new to Doug and Patricia.

In 1975, Doug and Patricia moved out of the city of Oshawa and purchased a three-acre property that included a modest century old house in the rural hamlet of Ashburn, Ontario. The house and property were in significant need of fixing up, and Doug spent many of his weekends over the first summers driving to and from the city dump removing decades of refuse and materials stockpiled on the property and conducting extensive renovations. It was a daunting challenge, in which Doug was ‘helped’ by Nick and Melissa who were often in tow and saw the move and the effort as a bit of an adventure. The house and property were an enormous undertaking for both Doug and Patricia, who also worked full-time. Patricia focused her energy and effort on days off toiling on beautifying the property, planting and shaping the garden as the land was cleared. During this time, Patricia often had to work Saturdays, leaving Doug alone with Nick and Melissa. These days were called “Adventure Saturdays” and as the name suggests, they were focused on special outings. This was sometimes a trip to the zoo, or a water park, or maybe a visit to the ‘big’ city of Toronto to explore. No matter what the destination, Adventure Saturdays typically included an ice cream cone.

In 1977, Doug and Patricia proudly became Canadian citizens.

Repairing the house and property was an investment of sweat-equity in service of their long-range plan: to subdivide the land and sell one of the newly formed properties to finance their dream house on the third property. The effort paid off and in 1982 the family moved into their new home. By then the family had grown to include Bianca (cat) and Sasha (dog), who also happily made the move next door. During this era Doug also became an avid skier, and the family spent most weekends in the winter at Dagmar, the nearby ski resort. Over the years Doug also explored many hobbies, including building and collecting model cars, playing blues guitar, and practicing magic.

In 1987 Nick left to study at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and in 1988 Melissa left for the west coast of Canada to study at the University of British Columbia. Nearing his graduation in 1991, Nick was offered a job at MDA Space and headed west with his soon-to-be wife Fiona. When it was clear that both Nick and Melissa had established roots in Vancouver, Doug and Patricia made the decision to leave Ontario to be closer. In 1993 they bravely sold their house of 11 years and bought a lovely new home perched high on a steep hill overlooking Long Lake in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, a ferry-ride away from Vancouver.

Doug and Patricia started a new life in Nanaimo and became active members of the lawn bowling club, and Patricia worked tirelessly once again to transform the landscape into a beautiful garden (regularly cursing the deer that ate her flowers!). During this time, Doug became a grandad to Nick and Fiona’s two children, Rachel (1994) and Florian (1996), and Melissa met and married Dave. In 2000 Doug and Patricia opted to downsize from their house and moved into a lovely 2-bedroom condominium along Nanaimo’s waterfront. They continued to lawn bowl but quickly established new routines, including Doug finding and becoming a regular at his favourite coffee shop, Serious Coffee, a short walk from their condo. In this time, Doug also became grandad to Melissa and Dave’s children Eloise (2007) and Hugo (2009). During this time, Doug and Patricia purchased a small vacation property in an older adult community in Mesa, Arizona, and for many years they left the rainy winters of Nanaimo behind to enjoy their sunny second home for months at a time. Doug especially enjoyed the social opportunities in Mesa, and both Doug and Patricia developed a second community of friends in Arizona.

In 2021, at age 85, Doug and Patricia made the decision to leave Nanaimo to be closer to the available support from Nick, Melissa and their families. They moved into a two-bedroom condominium in the bustling seaside village of Steveston, overlooking the Fraser River in Richmond, a short distance from Nick and Fiona’s home. Doug established a new routine of walking into the village to Blenz coffee, where they would pour his coffee as soon as he walked through the door. The proximity allowed for more time together, including family dinners and dog walks.

In November 2021, lymphoma was discovered in Doug’s mouth, and he underwent chemotherapy at Vancouver’s BC Cancer Centre. Despite the successful cancer treatment, his physical and cognitive health declined, and in early 2025 Doug was diagnosed with dementia and neurological damage resulting from a series of small lacunar strokes. After a series of falls in June, Doug was taken to hospital and from there was moved to Rosewood Manor, a long-term care facility in Richmond. Doug seemed to enjoy his short time at Rosewood Manor, and not surprisingly, he became immediately popular among the residents and care aides, making friends and demonstrably enjoying the meals to the very end! Doug was taken to hospital after becoming unresponsive after a fall in the morning on July 3, 2025, and passed away that afternoon.

Doug is remembered by Patricia as a warm caring husband and father, whom she truly loved.

He is remembered by Nick as a kind and loving father, and a resourceful man of many talents and interests. These ranged from making Halloween costumes and wooden pinewood derby “cub cars”, to car maintenance, bricklaying, photography, guitar, sailing, and restoring a vintage Austin Mini, to name a few! Nick fondly remembers “Adventure Saturday” when Doug would take the kids out for exotic new things, like chocolate dipped ice cream cones and their first taste of pizza! Nick is grateful to Doug for being introduced to so many experiences, some of which have grown into lifelong passions of his own.

He is remembered by Melissa as a kind, patient, loving father, who woke her up countless mornings for school with a cup of tea and a smile. He was the coach to her soccer teams, and the ever-present fan in the stands at her softball games. Melissa remembers him as the dad who taught her to ride a bike, running beside her to hold the seat steady, only telling her after they had stopped that he had let go of the seat a block earlier. She remembers him as a great conversationalist who often told stories that ended in laughter, and as a dad who might have spoiled her just a little bit, for which she is so grateful.

Doug lived a good life, and he was loved. He will be missed by many, and is survived by Patricia, Nick and Melissa and their families, and by his sister Olive and his nephews Robert and David and their families.

Doug was cremated after a small family gathering on July 10th. There will be no service, but we would love for you to share images and stories that celebrate Doug and his life to this site for all of us to remember him.